Tron: Legacy
by blackfox-vixen
Summary: Out of all the things that Sam had gotten her into, this was by far the most amazing and scariest thing in her life. Flying discs, light cycles, people exploding into tiny data cubes. Their lives would never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

"Sam," the young woman whispered in warning as her arms tightened around the man maneuvering the cycle. But her warning came too late as a familiar siren filled the underpass they weaved through at a dangerous speed. Realization hit her as Sam's shoulders shook in silent laughter as he lifted his visor to glance back at her and at the motor cop before looking forward.

But she caught his look, he did it on purpose!

Ass.

With a smile she jabbed his side which only warranted her a deep chuckle that she barely caught through her helmet and wind.

"Tori, hold on tight," Sam drawled out as he turned off his lights of his bike and sped up.

'Tori' was confused and a bit worried as the sirens got closer but did as was told even though his backpack made it hard to do so, she trusted him.

Trusted him to get them out of trouble in the craziest way possible that is.

Without a moment of hesitance, Sam sped up to cut the oil truck ahead and dropped off the rising ramp and into a descending one. Tori's teeth clattered against each other as they landed roughly on two sets of wheels before setting off. Loosening her hold slightly she glanced back to see the cop following the oil truck before the bridge skewered her sight.

There were so many things that could have gone wrong with that landing but…

"Cool," She breathed out with a laugh as they continued on their way through the city.

She loved nights like this, peace and quiet.

Well as quiet as this city could ever be. Even though the night sky was a blank slate, the lights of the city made up for it as they sped past them all to reach their destination. As they slowly made a stop at a familiar street she jumped off the bike as Sam paused to allow her to. Simultaneously they slipped their helmets off with a sigh as they relished the feel of the cool air against their overheated cheeks.

Black hair tumbled down in layered waves to rest midway of Tori's leather-clad back. Her long bangs were pulled back along with the rest of her hair as Tori tied them back with a rubberband as she glanced up at their target building. Her darkly lined cat-like eyes indicated an asian descent but her dark blue eyes indicated another. She had an athletic build under her black jeans, white tank and black leather jacket but her height shot way below Sam's 6 foot figure at about 5'4". Vertically challenged, as she would say and pocket-sized as he would call it.

Once again, ass.

Her name was Victoria Turner, a famous last name if you tuned in on the business section of the newspaper. Daughter and heir to the largest manufacturer of medical supplies, James and Esther Turner. Well, technically it was now only her mother since her father had died on the operating table after a car crash. Ironic really, how what he built to save other people's lives in turn could not save him. But her situation dimmed in comparison to the business tycoon's son next to her.

Turning back around Tori let out a deep breath as she glanced back at her partner. Only to find his chest about an inch from her face, causing the girl to jumped back slightly in shock.

A boyish smirk split Sam's angled face as she glanced down at her with his own set of blue eyes, much different in hue but similar in history behind them.

Short blond hair stuck to his head in a messy fashion as a faux-hawk like style jutted out. Sam Flynn, the son and heir of the grandeous Kevin Flynn. Creator of their most favorite game, Tron and the leader in all things technological.

That is, until he disappeared, literally.

No one knew, not even paparazzi, sleezy tattle-tales, foreign paparazzi, no one. Which only made his whole life worse as it topped the previous death of his mother.

And yet he moved on and here he was in a black leather jacket with a sweater beneath and jeans. They weren't here to dress and impress but he was still so hot.

'What a cutie,' she thought with an inner smile as she dazed for a second. But a sharp laugh brought her back to stare at Sam's amused look.

Crap.

"I said that out loud didn't I?" She questioned with a deadpanned look before following after him. A smirk was her only answer, but it confirmed her suspicion.

Double crap.

"Aww don't worry, I think you're cute too," He said as he jumped up the small set of stairs to a large bolted door.

"Whatever," She retorted with a smile as she fumbled after him.

With a quick breath and a mental speech to himself, Sam waited for the door to unlock. Opting to glance at his partner in crime to pass the time.

A smile creeped up onto his face before he could realize he was smiling.

That tended to happen a lot around her. Like before, when she clung onto him as on the bike and the other times they spent together. Her and he 'danced around' yet nothing beyond that. Well, prom but that didn't really count according to her.

That memory brought s small chuckle but he kept it down for his sake or else she'd beat him for thinking about it.

She was psychic.

He determined that about a year into their friendship even though she denied it. It was freaky yet comforting. They had known each other for years. A little after…after his father left and hers soon after

.

The heavy doors unlocking and careening open had his focus back onto the task at hand. Pocketing his "James Bond phone" as Tori would call it, he chose to gawk at the door with raised eyebrows with her.

"Now that is a big door," he commented before shuffling into the building with Tori right behind him. It was show time.

They had some big ass doors here at Encom. Yeah, they were breaking into his own company. Stupid huh? Well it was the only option with what they were going to do next.


	2. Chapter 2

The elevators were convenient but there was no way Victoria and Sam could avoid the camera without raising suspicion.

Hitting the first flight of stairs, the two made it to the first second floor before stopping to avoid the camera. She watched with a bated breath as Sam peaked around the wall for a split second before nodding at her. Moving in front of him, Victoria peered at the camera on the high corner of the wall facing the ascending stairs. Lifting her pocket laser she pointed it straight at the lens and began counting in her head. She felt Sam move his hands to grasp her hips as he let out a hot breath right next to her ear that had her suppress a shudder. Before she could do anything else, she finished her count and dropped her hand.

With her laser firmly grasped in hand she blew forcefully into Sam's face with a laugh before setting off quickly up the stairs. They were on a time schedule but that didn't mean they couldn't mess around. And so they repeated the process a few more times before they reached the 45th freaking floor.

'Holy crap, I need to work out,' Victoria thought with a barely contained gasp as they finally reached their floor. She was panting like a bull which didn't help her self esteem at all as she noticed Sam was barely out of breath. He glanced out at the hallway before reaching back to grasp Victoria's hand to drag her across the hall.

They both turned their heads to glance through the glass paned doors to see the meeting taking hold. Luckily they weren't spotted. Victoria could barely put names to any of the faces in the meeting except Alan. The only thing they could hear was clapping and congratulations.

Sam came to a stop in front of the room holding all the modems(Yeah at this point I have no idea what I'm talking about) and pulled out his cellphone to unlock the door. Behind him, Victoria looked around warily as she held one hand against Sam's back and the other latching onto one of his belt loops.

Beep.

With clearance they quietly walked in to make sure no one was going to pop up anywhere. However they failed to see the blue motion detector that shot half a foot away from the door.

"C'mon Sam," Victoria whispered as she urged him to run toward the machine he needed. There were hundreds that lined the room and they only needed one specific one.

"Alright, just keep an eye out," Sam said as he twisted two latches to open the drive.

As Sam did his thing, Tori looked around in awe for the first time. Sam had never let her come along before until this year. And despite the risks he warned her about, this was definitely worth it. Then something caught her eye as a large security personnel ran to reach the door they had come through.

"Sam," she found herself whispering as she tugged his belt loop in emphasis as she tucked herself tight behind him to hide herself from sight.

Beep.

"I know you're here!" The man shouted clearly as she spotted a beam of light, "let's make this easy."

Nibbling on her lip Victoria wished she was taller to glance around Sam's shoulder to see that they were atleast close.

With Tori's body pressed against his back Sam couldn't help but enjoy this moment. Adrenaline rushing, "stealing" his own company property, his best friend practically molesting him. Life was good.

Then a small rumble erupted between them.

'Oh my god,' Victoria thought with a giggle and embarrassment as she buried her face into Sam's back. Her stomach just rumbled in hunger. A tensing of Sam's shoulders told her that he had heard it too.

"Come on, come on," Sam whispered with a wide smile as he took a small glanced around the machine.

Done.

Without a word he reached behind him to unhook Tori's hand from his pants and pulled her quickly away toward the door by running around the machines on the opposite side of where the security man was.

"Freeze!"

Tori couldn't resist but to look back and smiled as she caught the confusion in the man's eyes. She could barely let out a chuckle before they were rocketing down the hall back toward the staircases. This time they were going straight up without any stops for cameras.

Fueled on Tori's laughter, Sam ran faster up the stairs with his partner right behind them. He had been weary on bringing her with him at first but all doubts were erased as they reached the rooftop. The cold night air hit them, cooling down their bodies as they took in the amazing sight. But they weren't here for the sight, but the crane.

Victoria was in awe as she looked around with wide eyes. Honestly, she had no idea what was coming next but could feel fear ebbing at the corner of her mind as they realized they could run no more.

"You liked that?" Sam's deep voice interrupted as he glanced back at her with a smile, "You'll love this next part." With a raised eyebrow she followed his eyes toward the crane.

The smile on her face dropped so fast that Sam couldn't resist but to let out a bark of laughter. She was pale as a ghost. He knew she was scared shitless but trusted him.

As quickly as possible, he pulled Tori up with him onto the arm of the crane with a tight grip on her hand.

A pathetic whine left her as they reached the end of the arm with both their feet making up the whole width. Without a second thought she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and pressed her face into his shirt. The only thing keeping her from screaming was his warm body muffling her mouth.

Sam moved a hand onto her waist as he glanced down at the street with all traces of humor gone.

"Hey Dad, how you doin'?" Sam asked into the wind after he secured the straps of his backpack firmly onto himself. With a breath he glanced down at the top of Tori's head and placed a kiss on it. Reaching behind him he pulled around from each side an extra set of straps and quickly moved to secure Tori against him. With a deep breath he looked up and around him.

"Where are you going to run to now?"

The same security personnel had followed them up and was now creeping up onto the arm of the crane as well. With wide eyes, Sam and Tori stared at the unbalanced man as he made their way toward them. Fear kept her mouth shut and even if she could open it she wouldn't be able to speak. But Sam spoke for the both of them so she felt a bit relieved.

"Hey you don't want to do that," Sam said loudly as he lifted a hand in warning and worry. But the man was relentless, Sam gave him credit for that.

"Didn't anyone tell you that stealing was wrong?" The man continued with a small quiver in his voice as he continued to move forward.

"You can't steal something that was designed to be free," Sam replied sharply as he kept his hand in the air while staring at the security man.

"Now I got cha," the security personnel said with a smirk of confidence as he continued edging forward.

"Hey, don't sweat it, your boss is okay with it," Sam continued.

"The hell he is!"

"Ooh, stingy," Victoria whispered before she could help herself. Sam's free hand rested on her back in warning as she waved slightly. He knew as much as she did that the rent-a-cop had more balls than she did to come up by himself. And he was amused. She would've done something too if they weren't standing an inch away from certain death.

"Your boss works for the CEO, and the CEO works for the shareholders," her crazy friend continued calmly as he held a steady eye on the man, "Now do you know who the biggest share holder is?"

Finally the man stopped to rest a few feet from them. From where Victoria could see his name tag clearly.

Stanley Merced.

Stanley stopped to let out a confused look before replying, "I don't know, some kid."

To which Sam let out a smile and used both his arms to get his point across.

With a shakey breath, Victoria watched as realization hit Stanley like a freight train.

"You're Mr. Flynn," Stanley let out in awe.

The power in a name.

Stanley leaned back slightly in confusion.

"B-But why? This is your father's company."

Victoria tilted her head down in sadness as she felt Sam's muscles tensing even more in contempt.

"Not any more," Sam got out before he moved them so his back was facing the edge.

"H-Hey Kid," Stanley stuttered as he slowly began realizing what was happening. The kids were going to jump!

Vertigo and adrenaline psych meshed together and hit Victoria and Sam.

"NOOOOOO!"

A scream tore Victoria's throat but loud laughter left Sam as they basically did a free fall. But soon Victoria was laughing and screaming in joy along with Sam as they reached closer to the ground. Why she was laughing, Tori had no idea. Sanity had been thrown out the window since the first day she had met 'Mr. Flynn.'

"WHOOOAAAA," Sam belted out as he yanked on the releasing chord. The breath got knocked out of them both as a black parachute shot out of Sam's backpack and was quickly filled with air to dampen their fall.

"Whoo hoo hoo!" He continued as he tried to glide the two of them to the ground. Victoria was psyched shitless and could barely move let alone scream anymore. But Sam's sudden panic had her yelling Sam's name out in anger since she couldn't see what he was yelling about.

They both jerked forward before swinging back.

Finally taking a breath, Victoria looked up with Sam to see the parachute tangled up with a street lamp.

"Uh-oh," She whispered as she quickly scanned the street below for cars. They both struggled as the straps holding them up were beginning to sting.

"Taxi, taxi," Tori repeated as she eyed the incoming vehicle.

Glancing back Sam got her idea and placed a hand on the latch holding them both onto the parachute.

"Now!"

They both fell with a shriek from Tori onto the moving vehicle. A grunt escaped Sam while a groan left her lips as her chest slammed quite hard onto the cold metal roof. God it sucked being a girl sometimes.

"Hey! No free rides!" The taxi man exclaimed as he slammed his fist repeatedly on the glass panel. The situation suddenly had both unwanted passengers laughing and holding on for their lives as the taximan began jerking the car around sporadically.

"Oh my GOOOD," Tori screamed out as the two cop cars barricaded the way forcing the taxi man to stop immediately. Sending both their persons to roll across the hood of the car and sprawling on the ground. And without a moment to spare, Sam and Tori shot off to slide across the cop car's hoods and toward Sam's bike. It was a mad dash as Victoria literally ran for her life. But just as quickly they were stopped as a bright light shot down over them.

"Stop right there!"

"Freeze!"

Stuttering to a stop, Tori looked around frantically as she noticed they were boxed in now. She was furious as hell with Sam but couldn't stop the maniac smile from forming as she raised her hands.

"Okay, Okay boys," Sam exclaimed as he spread his arms out like an eagle, "You got us."

As his arms were pulled down roughly to be cuffed, Sam turned his head to meet Tori's smile that matched his own. His eyes never left her until she was shuffled into a separate car away from the one he was being put into.

'She's so going to kill me,' Sam thought with a laugh as he leaned back to rest his sore body against the uncomfortable seat covers of the car.

'I'm going to kill him,' Victoria thought as her cheeks began to hurt from the smile on her face. But a giggle betrayed her anger as she opted to lay down across the seat with a sigh.

What a night.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam bid the receptionist at police station a thanks and a good night before heading toward the front exit. The receptionist had told him that Tori had already been cleared and left the building a few minutes before him. And since she did not have her money on her right now and he had the only transportation. That meant she was waiting for him.

'Waiting to jump me is more like it,' Sam thought with an uneasy chuckle. Sure he was physically stronger than her and could take what she dished out. But she was still scary when she wanted to be and her punches hurt.

Making sure he had his keys in his pocket, he pushed passed the glass doors with his release papers in hand.

'Where is she?'

Looking around, Sam could not spot his raven-haired friend anywhere.

"Samuel Flynn."

Clearing his throat, Sam turned around and put on the biggest smile he could muster at the moment. Leaning against the wall of the building next to the entrance was Victoria with her arms crossed and an eerily calm look.

But before he could say anything Tori pushed off the wall and walked toward him with a sway to her hips, catching his attention automatically. What could he say, he was still a guy.

"So where's your parachute?" Tori asked as she took her helmet from his hands.

"Well, uhh," Sam let out a nervous chuckle, "They had to confiscate it."

"Uh-huh"

Glare.

If it wasn't so cool and dark out, Tori was pretty sure she would see Sam sweat bullets with that expression of his.

She turned around to face forward with her arms still crossed across her chest. Kids and adults alike were being escorted into the police station by officers.

"I'm sorry, I'll get you...uh myself another one."

Sam's comment got a smile out of her.  
Darn him.

Letting out a small laugh, Tori bumped her hip against his before heading down the stairs toward the lot.

"I got that for you as a present Sam, I don't really care what you do with it," Tilting her head back she glanced at him, "Glad you could put it to good use."

"Wha? Then what's with the third degree?" Sam exclaimed as he rushed after her.

"For flattening my boobs you boob," Tori rubbed her chest with a pout, "I think I went down a cup size."

With a grin Sam rushed in front of her and walked backwards. Pocketing his slip he lifted both his hands and wiggled his fingers.

"Statistics say, stimulation of the glands help," He charmed.

"Whatever!" Tori laughed as she pushed him on the chest, nearly sending him sprawling on the sidewalk.

"Hey!"

"Just get your bike fool."

"You shouldn't treat your chauffeur like that."

"Well Mr. Chauffeur, since I'm paying for dinner. I get to say whatever the hell I want. ESPECIALLY after what you made me go through," Tori moved to pat her stomach, "I'm so hungry."

"I know, I heard earlier," Sam said slyly as he stared at her from the corner of his eyes. He quickly moved to dodge a swing to his stomach and jogged up to the kiosk. Taking out the slip he pressed it against the glass as he nodded toward the guard on duty.

"Hey Guss,"

Soon they were on their way to the nearest fast-food place. They spent the next half hour eating and joking around before heading back out onto the road. She was spending the night at his place.

'Better than staying alone at home,' she thought as he got off the bridge and the main road onto a dirt path. Closing her eyes, Tori let her head rest against his back. Her hands were tucked under his jacket, something she would always do when she forgot her gloves.

Suddenly a smirk made it's way under her helmet. Though the foam pressing against her cheeks made it a bit harder to do so.

Untangling her fingers but keeping a good grip around his waist, Tori began stroking her fingers against his abs. Feeling his muscles twitch, she could barely hold a laugh as the bike took a rather large turn into Sam's loft.

'Payback's a bitch,' Tori let out a evil laugh to herself in her head.

Once the bike was turned off she dug her fingers into his side and began tickling him mercilessly. Muffled laughter filled the room as they both fell off the bike wrestling.

Sam had her pinned to the ground in no time, not that Tori really expected to win. Suddenly Sam was jumped by Marvin.

Pulling her helmet off, Tori sat up laughing at Sam's expense as he was attacked by his own dog.

"Go Marv! Attack him!"

"Augh!"

Feeling pity for him, Tori lifted Marv from Sam and patted over to place him on his bedding. Squishing his adorable face, Tori smacked Sam's dog a kiss on his nose.

"That's disgusting" Sam shrugged his jacked off and tossed it onto his couch.

"You're just jealous cause I don't kiss you like that," Standing up Tori pulled a wrapped burger from her jacket and dropped it onto Marvin's bedding.

"Here you go cutie, you earned it."

"I thought I was the cutie?"

A couch pillow met Sam's protruding butt as he bent down.

Seeing Sam open his fridge, Tori quickly called out for a soda.

"Get it yourself, I can't believe you tickled me. I could have crashed us right onto the door ya know." He retorted but grabbed a soda for her anyway.

"Don't be such a baby."

"I wasn't the one screaming when we were flying."

"That was NOT flying. That was falling and thank you by the way Mr. Steven Hawkings, your miscalculation just got me a record."

"It wasn't a miscalculation. You and that guard slowed me down more than I calculated," Sam chided jokingly while he tried to save his pride as he kept his head in the fridge.  
Where was all his beer?  
He bet his money that Tori hid it somewhere.

"Are you calling me fat?"

A chuckle broke through the room.

Tori turned around to see Alan entering through the open door facing the docks. A blush immediately made it's way across her face before she moved to embrace the man.

Sam on the other hand found his beer and grabbed two before drawling out, "Why are you in my apartment Alan?"

Standing up, Sam turned to face his surrogate father for the past 20 years.

"Well you don't answer your phone," Alan replied as he embraced the woman back.

"And I noticed you brought Victoria along to your annual...visit."

Ever since Sam had introduced her to Alan when they were teenagers, Alan had quickly taken up a role as her surrogate father as well. And as much as she appreciated it, she still found it a bit weird when he stepped into "father mode." Especially when it came to Sam. Weird but mostly funny.

"Uhhh...I'm going to go change."

Tori quickly made her way up the stairs to Sam's room. She was not used to getting caught when she got in trouble. And she was going to let Sam take the burn. Mwuahahaha.


	4. Chapter 4

A pained gasp escaped Tori as she lifted her shirt above her head before tossing it into a plastic laundry bin. Closing her eyes she bent down at her waist from her sitting position on Sam's bed and let out a shuttered breath. Tori had a high pain tolerance but she still felt the pain and it didn't help that she tears up easily.

As she put on a fresh white wife-beater, Tori caught a glance at her back in the mirror. Two thick horizontal bruising lines ran straight across her lower back, contrasting greatly against her pale skin.

'Freaking Sam,' Tori thought with no malice but a small smile as she headed into the smell bathroom having to step over some piles of clothes on the floor on the way. It wasn't that Sam put it there but rather Victoria, but she always cleaned up anyways so the owner of the apartment didn't mind…much.

Spotting a bra on the ground, Tori let out a laugh. Sam was going to eat her out for that, but she was pretty sure he enjoyed it. Perv.

She washed her face with cold water trying to erase all the tired away but could not do much with her aching back screaming at her. After patting her face dry with a towel, Tori let her hair down as she headed back down the staircase catching a bit of the conversation between Alan and Sam.

"Oh you like that? That was Marv's idea." Sam said with a hint of humor in his voice.

"With my help!" Tori added in with a smile as she jumped down the last few steps to smile at the two men. Well, technically she just took the video and bribed Sam into letting her go with him. Ha ha, Sam wasn't the only genius.

* * *

(Flashback 2 days before)

Sam squinted his eyes as he traced a pencil down the blueprints of the Encom building. Pulling out a ruler, he quickly wrote down the distance between the staircase entrance into the hallway to the doorway of the target room.

"Woof woof!"

Peaking over his shoulder, Sam raised an eyebrow at the sight.

Tori crouched on the floor in front of Marv's bed with her hands up next to her face in a bear-claw like standing. And she was barking into Marv's face. Barking. Really?

"Bark bark! Marv bark bark!"

Marvin let out a bark as he shook his tiny tail.

'God, what the hell?' He thought as he leaned back on the couch to watch the spectacle. Marv was technically his dog but he tended to be more responsive to Tori. 'I bet she trained him to be that way'

A shout of happiness left the hybrid woman as she gave Marv a quick treat.

"Who's a good boy?"

Bark bark!

Tori reached back and pulled out her cellphone and aimed it down at Marv.

"Again Marv! Bark bark!"

Bark bark!

"See, I told you I speak dog," Tori said as she turned to meet Sam's gaze with a smile.

"That's not speaking dog Tori," Sam stretched as he slumped down, "That's just you being plain crazy."

"Asshole, don't be jealous. Just for that I'm going to set this video to go off every five minutes on your phone and laptop."

"You're technologically retarded remember? Ah! Hey! That was in your own words!" Sam defended as she threw a dog treat at his head. As it bounced off his arm, Marv moved in quickly to eat the treat that fell onto the couch cushion. "Besides you couldn't program my laptop to do that even if…that's it."

Sam stood up with a lit up expression before turning to face Tori.

"Quick, send me that video."

"No."

"What? Why! You just said you were going to send it to me."

"I was until you wanted it. Now I'm not going to give it to you," Tori stated with a confident nod as she pocketed her cellphone.

"That is…if you let me come with."

"Come with what?" Sam put on a dumbfounded expression.

"Don't play dumb! I know you're going to use this video somehow with your plan."

"Fine! I'll just make my own video."

"Good luck with that."

So Sam spent the next thirty minutes chasing down Marv and trying to get him to bark. But nothing. Eventually he gave into Tori's request and set to put in the new variables into the equation.

Nerd.

(End Flashback)

* * *

"Hustled is more like it," Sam teased as he took a sip of his beer.

Victori walked over and sat herself down next to Sam and dignified herself by not choosing to answer but drink her own soda. Glancing over at Sam, she noticed a bit of a tick on his jaw. That meant Alan had tried to chew him down while she was gone about taking her along.

Feeling bad about stressing him out, she reached over pat his knee before taking the manual for the Ducati bike.

"Sam," Alan said with a tired look in his eyes as he let the unopened can of beer down.

Letting out a laugh of disbelief, Sam leaned back against the cushions of his couch. He stared at Alan before leaning forward again on his knees, careful not to spill his drink.

"Are we really gonna do this again? Do I really look like I'm ready to run a fortune five hundred company?" Sam emphasized with his hands as he took a sip.

"No," Alan and Tori chanted simultaneously. Alan glanced at her with a small smile which Tori returned without looking up from the manual as she thumbed through it.

Sam scrunched up his face in thought at Alan's answer, a bit surprised as he glanced down for a second.

"The company is pretty happy with where you are too," Alan continued as he tucked his hands into his pockets as he unconsciously glanced at the small space between Sam and Tori shortening before he could help himself.

"Not bad," Sam said faintly with a strange smile.

"See that way they could keep doing whatever they want….I guess what I find curious is the crazy charities, the annual prank on the company. You sure have an interesting way of being disinterested."

At this point Tori had stopped trying to understand what was in the manual and looked between the two men. The conversation was beginning to go downhill, like how it often did with every past conversation they had.

Sam at this point had put his can down and swung an arm to rest on the couch top behind Tori's shoulders while choosing to stare intensely at the page Tori had stopped at.

Before this conversation could end in another argument Tori slapped the manual closed loudly.

"Why are you here Alan?"

She didn't mean to sound as if she was mad but she was tired of hearing the same thing over and over. Watching Alan, Tori could feel Sam rest his forehead against the crook of her neck in thanks before looking up at his surrogate father again. His forehead was burning, he was really stressed.

Victoria watched as Alan pulled a small back device from his front pocket and showed it to Sam nervously.

"I was paged last night."

Wow.

Tori's and Sam's eyebrows shot up in amusement and slight shock. People still used those dinosaurs?

"Oh man, still rockin' the pager Al. Good for you," Sam let out a true laugh.

Laughter escaped the other two parties.

"Yeah your…your Dad once told me that I had to sleep with it," Alan looked down at the pager reminiscing, missing the look on Sam's face. Or rather the lack of.

"And I still do."

Sam's amused expression dropped just as fast as Tori's awe on the roof top. The notch on his jaw returned again only more prominently.

"The page came from your Dad's office at the arcade."

The manual dropped from Tori's limp hands as she stared at Alan in shock.

How was that even possible?

If it was even possible, Sam's face went stone cold.

"So?"

"So?" Alan echoed Sam in a softer voice.

"Sam, that would be impossible. Didn't you say that the place was shut down?" Tori voiced out in disbelief.

"She's right Sam, that number's been disconnected for twenty years."

"Sam, two nights before he disappeared he came to my house. I've cracked it! He kept saying," Alan said in a louder and stronger tone as he inched forward, "he was talking about genetic algorithms…"

Sam shook his head before dropping it against his chest.

Saddened by his posture, Tori reached over his slumped back and began rubbing down his spine in comfort.

A sigh left him before he looked back up.

"Quantum teleportation, he said he was going to change u-uh science, religion! He wouldn't have left that Sam." Alan walked around the table and sat on top of it to face Sam directly, "He wouldn't have left you."

"Alright Alan," Sam suddenly stood, stepping away from Tori's ministrations and onto the dock just outside the opened garage door, "you're the only one who still believes that."

Alan glanced at Tori's sad expression before turning to follow Sam with a determined look.

"He's either dead, or chilling in Costa Rica," Sam lifted his arms only to drop them to emphasize his point before turning to face Alan, "probably both!"

Sam's face portrayed a man beyond his years as his whole posture slumped down with a tired smile.

"I'm sorry. I'm tired, I smell like jail….let's just reconvene in another couple of years. Huh? What do you say?"

A statement covered as a question.

Sam looked down at Tori on the couch and could see the disappointment in her eyes. At him and Alan. Unable to keep her stare, he turned to face the bridge as he took a sip from his drink.

'Some night this turned out to be,' He thought sadly.

Tori pursed her lips together and stood silently. The conversation was obviously over.

Alan shuffled forward as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket.

"Here," He waited for Sam to turn around to show him the keys, "these are the keys to the arcade. I haven't gone over there yet. I thought you should be the one—"

"Alan." Sam interrupted, "you're acting like I'm going to find him sitting there at work. Just…hey kiddo, I lost track of time."

Sam caught the keys in a tight fist.

"Now, wouldn't that be something."

Alan left with a final smile at Sam and Tori.

Tori bid Alan goodnight before heading over to stand by Sam.

Walking up behind the boy wonder, Tori reached around and embraced his waist in a soft hug. They stood there quietly, listening to the faint sounds of the city and dock.

Bark!

Both adults looked down to see Marv looking up at them, barking for their attention.

Stepping away, Tori walked back into the building to leave Sam to his thoughts.

Sam could not help but feel pulled in opposite directions. There was no point in going back, there would be nothing. But if he didn't go, he would always be filled with the 'what if's.' But if he went, and there was nothing like he thought then the disappointment would be automatic. And he did not want to deal with his father, especially now after all these years.

"But you want something solid to believe in. Hard evidence to support what you already know…or prove yourself wrong," Tori's voice cut through to finish his thoughts.

The corner of Sam's lips twitched as he finished his drink before turning to see his long time friend standing by the couch with their jackets in one hand and their helmets in the other.

'I guess I know what she wants to do,' he thought faintly but gratefully.

Whatever they would find, he was glad she was coming. He wouldn't have it any other way.


	5. Chapter 5

Tori stared at the back of Sam's unprotected head in frustration. He had tried to convince her to go without her helmet as well saying the arcade wasn't that far from his place. But if today wasn't a fine example of his skills, then she had a whole bunch of other times to back up her inclination for wearing a helmet.

So here they were.

Heading toward Sam's fathers supposed abandoned arcade. She had not personally ever been to the arcade before. She had always heard about it from her friends prior to meeting Sam but that was as close as it got for her. But Sam…he'd been going there since he was a kid. At times like these she wished she could help carry the burden he did. He was expressive of his thoughts when he wanted to be and she knew him well enough to see some things others didn't. But then there were times when he would completely detach, somewhere she could never get him out of.

The sounds of the city almost seemed to disappear as they drove deeper and farther into the local streets.

Barren.

That was what Tori would describe the scenery as. Store after store they passed, each abandoned and locked up.

As Sam slowed to a stop in front a large structure at a large cross-section, Tori glanced up at the large neon lights with awe. Like a bedtime story, Sam had described to her the nights when the neon lights would be a staple with the sounds of arcade games echoing through the doors. She wished she could have seen it.

Feeling Sam beginning to get off the bike, Tori immediately clamped down onto him to keep him from leaving. When he glanced back at her quizzically Tori stared at him through her visor. He couldn't see her but she knew what she was asking.

A nod was all she got.

Sam slipped out of Tori's grasp after she had relented and helped her off the bike as well. Instead of letting go of her warm hand, he held it with him as they made their way toward the large glass doors. Her hand seemed to be the only proof that what he was seeing and doing wasn't a dream.

He wasn't a fool. The chances of finding anything were slim to nothing. There weren't any cars around and nothing that indicated anybody has been around in years.

Letting go of Tori's hand, Sam pulled out the keys Alan had given him and choose the key he knew would unlock the door. Déjà vu was almost instant. How many times had his father allowed him to come with him at the crack of dawn to open the doors with him.

When he froze, his hand and key an inch away from the lock Sam couldn't help but think that coming here was a mistake. Staring through the glass, he could barely see anything through the dark and shroud. This would only bring painful memories.

The key left his hand suddenly.

Startled, he looked down to see Tori's hand pushing the key into the lock. But when her hand moved to open the door, Sam placed his hands on top of hers.

He still believed she was psychic when her hand paused in her action. Waiting for him to move.

With pursed lips he squeezed her hand and opened the door.

They could hardly see anything. Plastic coverings were everywhere including in front of the door but a gust of wind sent debris into the arcade. The sounds of the plastic ruffling were the only sounds.

Tori left the door open considering the only light was the light coming in through the door. Not really knowing what to do, she watched silently as Sam whipped out his trusty flashlight.

'Seriously, him carrying that thing around tells you a lot about what he does in his spare time,' Tori thought dryly as Sam walked over toward the control panel and flicked a couple notches.

The couple were instantly hit with loud gaming sounds. The lights of the game booths were bright and loud, even through the plastic shrouds. Tori was pretty sure the only thing missing were the kids that filled the seats of the games and the sound of their laughter.

"Wow,"

Her comment drowned in the sounds and music but obviously her expression wasn't as she caught a glimpse of Sam's smirk of amusement as he crossed in front of her. He stopped by the juke machine and touched it for a second before heading off. Poor guy.

Looking around she edged toward the nearest game and smiled as she recognized what was playing on the screen. Pac-man. She couldn't believe all the games she had played younger was now considered old-school.

_Here we stand_

Tori looked up and could barely spot Sam's silhouette leaving the room up top through the blinds.

Tori made her way down the aisle of games with a sad smile. Guess he didn't find anything but old memories.

Sam made his way back toward the first level with a hint of bitterness. There was nothing here and he didn't plan on staying here longer than needed. He planned on shutting the power down when he spotted Tori hunched over a particular booth. The large neon lights above her gave away what she was looking at.

Tron.

_Worlds apart and hearts broken in two_

_Two_

_Two_

Hips rocking back and forth to the beat, Tori had long since removed the plastic covering the iconic game. She unfortunately didn't bring anything with her so she settled for watching the demo. She had never played tron but it sounded exciting enough from what she heard about it, mostly from Sam. And it probably helped that it was the number one game in the world.

Sam walked over with a steady eye on Tori and the game.

_Sleepless nights_

'She's never played or been here before,' he remembered, 'Guess it wouldn't hurt to stay a bit longer.'

_Losing ground_

As he got closer, Sam couldn't help but feel a bit more comfortable. Leave it to Tori to make him always feel somewhat better even though she didn't do anything as she would call it.

'Yet she did everything I needed,'

_I'm reaching for you_

_You_

_You_

"Enjoying yourself?"

_Feelin' that it's gone_

Tori didn't have to look back to see who was laughing at her but she looked nonetheless with a challenging look in her eye.

_Change your mind_

_If we can't go on_

"I bet I could beat your score."

Ha.

She knew she couldn't but she wasn't going to say that, it didn't sound as cool.

"You don't even know how to play," Sam pointed out as he tucked himself next to her when she moved over.

"Then show me superstar."

Taking the mocking tone in her comment with a stride, he pulled out a coin and slipped it into the slot.

_To survive the tide love divides_

Clink.

The coin had slipped right through.

Tori let out a dissatisfied grunt.

Noticing Sam wasn't getting back up, Tori glanced down to see him fingering something on the ground before he looked right up at her and the game.

_Someday love will find you._

_Break those chains that bind you_

"What?"

"C'mon, help me move this thing," Sam said as he looked to the side of the machine before bracing himself against the ground. He could tell she was confused and didn't see what he did but she helped anyways.

_One night will remind you._

_How we touched _

_And went our separate ways_

Strangely, the booth didn't move sideways but rather swung away from the wall.

It was hinged to the wall.

"Wow, your dad is weird," Tori commented with raised eyebrows as Sam stood to join her.

"Tell me about it," Sam muttered as he flushed the light of his flashlight against the rusted metal door.

_If he ever hurts you._

The music seemed to drown away as they both pushed at the door to crack it open.

Sam glanced at Tori to see if she was coming and was startled when she took the flashlight from him and went right in before him. With a small laugh he moved in behind her.

_You know I still love you__  
__Though we touched__  
__And went our separate ways_

Tori paid no heed as Sam closed the door from behind them. There was a bit of a hallway before it turned into a staircase leading straight down. She wanted to scream out that this whole thing seemed like a bad horror movie but kept it to herself. Besides even if it were, she wasn't planning on turning back.

As they hit the staircase a deep beat rattled them as a new song went on.

_Sweet dreams are made of this_

_Who am I to disagree?_

_Travel the world and the seven seas_

At the bottom another set of heavy doors met them to their left.

But this time there was a lock but…

"Someone's been here?" Tori questioned in a whisper as they both stared at the keys jammed into the lock of the door. Well, more like someone had been here a long, long time ago. Like the rest of this place, the keys were covered in dust.

_Everybody's looking for something__  
__Some of them want to use you__  
__Some of them want to get used by you_

Looks like they did find something worth coming here for.

This time Sam went forward and opened the door without a second thought. But this time, Tori couldn't even get out the amazement that caught in her throat at the sight. It looked like a laboratory. Talk about nerd central.

"Son of a gun," Sam got out in disbelief.

_Some of them want to abuse you__  
__Some of them want to be abused_

"Is that a laser cannon?"

_Sweet dreams are made of this_

Sam moved the light around the room.

Pinned to the walls were pictures of a kid and a woman.

_Who am I to disagree?__  
__Travel the world and the seven seas_

Tori was stuck gawking at the cannon thing and had to reach over to grasp Sam's hoodie to steady herself.

What kind of man was Sam's father anyway?

She was pulled away from the machine as Sam moved toward a desk.

No.

A computer that looked like a desk.

_Everybody's looking for something_

This whole family was insanely genius.

Sam had spotted the blueprint layout that hung above the computer.

The Grid.

This was where his father always went to.

This was where all the stories he was told originated from.

This was where he knew he was going to get his answers.

He knew it.

The desk whirled as Sam touched the screen to move the dust away.

Tori didn't recognize anything on the screen.

That was how old this was.

Like Alan's pager.

She moved to help dust away the rest of the screen. As Sam began typing away at the digital keyboard, Tori continued looking around with her hand still firmly grasping San's hoodie.

"Huh…what about the backdoor?"

Tick

Tick

Beep

Tick

Tick

"What were you working on…"

Thinking Sam was asking her, Tori looked down at the screen and read what Sam got through.

"Aperture Clear?" Tori read out loud.

Sam looked around before shrugging and confirming Yes.

Then she heard it. Snapping her head upwards she turned her head toward the cannon.

What did Sam do this time?

Vertigo.

Vertigo and the pain of landing on her ass fogged her brain for a second. She opened her mouth to ask what had just happened but she was interrupted.

By a huge beam of light cutting through the small window and everything around them rattling.

Holy shit.

With a firm grip of Tori's hand, Sam shot out of the room and back up the stairs. Anxiety hit his whole body as he rocketed out of the arcade.

"Oh my god," Sam could hear Tori whisper as they took in the sight.

They weren't where they were supposed to be.

This was not their home.

Black and neon lights splashed every surface.

Towering slick buildings lined up towards the skies.

The only thing that seemed similar were the baren streets.

Everything was so….surreal.

Pulled away from her thoughts, Tori was dragged behind Sam as he shot down a street and into another cross-section.

"This isn't happening," Sam got out as he looked around frantically.

He knew where they were.

"Sam," Tori got out but it wasn't anger that filled her but fear.

Sam turned to face her but she was looked up toward something with her eyes wide.

A bright light surrounded them.

Sam immediately raised his arms, taking one of Tori's limp arms with him as he looked up.

Tori wasn't looking at his face but if she had she would have seen the recognition and fear in his eyes.

The Recognizer.

"Oh man, this is happening."


	6. Chapter 6

Author note: Thank you for all those who took the time to review. I appreciate the comments very much and am glad that you guys are enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it. Please continue reviewing if you can, I really do like feedback. Suggestions, critiques and complements are always welcome. Requests will also be taken into consideration, but please understand I have a plan for how things to turn out as well.

Sorry that this one took longer to upload than the previous chapters.

* * *

Sam moved to run but was caught off guard as the floor all around them dropped like descending tiles. A shriek had him looking to the side. It seemed Tori had the same idea of running but did not catch herself as fast as he did.

Careening and arms flailing, Tori panicked as she began leaning too far forward.

"Tori!" Sam shouted with wide eyes as he grabbed one of her arms and pulled her straight into him. Breathing heavily and hearts beating like a champ, they both turned to face the machine and could see a horizontal platform come down to their level.

Two strangely dressed individuals stepped off with staffs in their hands. Each guard grabbed a hold of one of each of Sam and Tori's arms in a tight grip and ripped them apart from each other.

"Hey!" Sam and Tori chorused but were too confused to fight back.

Tori stared into the black visor like helmet that covered the individual that held onto her upper arm. He/she peaked at her back before nodding at the other one.

Blinking, Tori turned to stare at the other guard-like figure as he, sounded like a he anyways, voiced their thoughts.

"These programs don't have disks, two more strays," The figure droned before both guards began pulling the two onto the descended platform.

'programs…PROGRAMS?' Tori thought alarmed as she began struggling sluggishly against her assailant's iron grip.

"No, wait! We're not programs!" Sam tried to reason as he struggled as well.

Tori and Sam were shoved onto the two last vacant spots but before they could try and dash off the tile beneath lit up vibrating. A clamp came down over their feet in a lock.

Sam watched as the two guards stepped onto their own spots and were secured in place by panels.

"Sam, are we where I think we are?" Tori asked as the Recognizer began rising up into the air once again. She could not move any portion of her lower body, it wasn't that she was numb but more like held in place with invisible straps.

Tori followed Sam's gaze down and spotted what looked like a….tank rolling past from beneath them. Everything they were seeing…it was exactly like what Sam would describe in the Tron game. Which mean they were in the only place all of these could exist.

"He actually did it…" Sam whispered, "I'm on the grid…"

A chill went up her spine as Victoria looked around. The wind was whipping her hair everywhere but she couldn't move her arms to push them out of her sight. Then she heard Sam's voice yelling over the wind and into her ear. Ow.

"Does the name Kevin Flynn mean anything to you?" Sam yelled.

Tori peaked at Sam before looking at the man beside her. And boy did he not look happy at all, he glared at them both.

"Be quiet if you want to live," He stated.

Tori's mouth dropped visibly as the man's voice came out…like as it would come out of a computer. Digitalized.

Sam turned to look at the other people beside him as Tori continued gaping at the man.

The program must have felt her stare as he turned his eyes to glare down at her.

Closing her mouth shut, she bit down on her lower lip before turning away quickly. Her face burned in embarrassment.

Closing her eyes for a second, Tori took in a deep breath before looking up at Sam. She caught him turning straight forward with a freaked out look on his face. Curious she looked around him but saw nothing but the other captives.

Before she could ask, Tori's breath caught as she caught sight of the great scenery. They had made their way past the fog and clouds and could now see the grid in all it's glory.

As freaked out as she was, the woman couldn't help but feel grateful that she got to see this.

"Beautiful…" She whispered as they began approaching a large coliseum like structure.

She and Sam remained silent for the rest of the trip down, caught up in the amazement of the situation.

As they landed smoothly onto a long platform, Sam couldn't help but feel his stomach drop the slightest as the stage they were on began lowering onto the ground.

Waiting for them on the ground were three more guard-like persons, dressed almost exactly the same as the two guards that took them in.

A single person stood forward and walked onto the stage.

Tori could not see his face but could tell he was scanning over them. All the captives watched with a bated breath as he made his way toward one end of the stage.

A shuttered scanning sound echoed as the guard's head tilted the slightest.

"Rectify," He rumbled in a deep computerized voice.

This was getting weirder and weirder.

Sam could see the captive's face drop along with his whole figure. He guessed that being rectified wasn't what they wanted. The boy genius glanced at his companion with a slightly worried look. But they weren't programs, so they would be fine.

Right?

"Rectify,"

The guard stepped to the side and faced the next captive, a rather jittery looking one. Even Tori could see from her spot that he was shaking to the core in fear and it only seemed to get worse as the guard let out the verdict.

"Games."

The response was instant.

"No….please!"

But the guard paid no attention as he quickly evaluated the next prisoner, the one right beside Sam.

"Rectify."

Sam instantly began trying to let out an explanation as the guard came to face him.

"Look I know you probably get this a lot, but there has been a big mistake," Sam rattled off with a charming smile. But that was quickly wiped away.

"Games."

Sam quickly looked at Tori but could not catch her eye as she stared intently at the guard in front of her. The guard seemed to take a bit more time scanning her, Sam could not help but feel angry.

"Games," The guard finally got out before moving over.

"Games?" Tori repeated to look at Sam questionably but they were both interrupted as a shout left the jittery man as he was carted off.

"NO!"

"Whoah," Sam was the next to be escorted.

"ERASE ME!"

The two humans watched in horror as the program ran straight off the platform. A glass shattering sound filled the air but that was enough to freak the crap out of Tori.

Not sure what was happening but thoroughly scared for her life, Tori did not even struggle as she was next to be escorted.

"No, wait! Wait!"

Hearing Sam struggle, Tori snapped out of it before struggling as well.

"Let me go you freaks!" Tori tried to dig her feet into the ground but it was as smooth as glass.

Sam and Tori were separated onto two separate panels.

Unable to move once more, Tori instantly looked to the side to find Sam.

"Victoria!"

The last thing she saw was Sam's worried face with his arm stretched out. She was dropping at a fast speed straight down. Her stomach instantly dropped as she tried to close her eyes but was afraid to do so. Lights passed around her in flashes as she continued to descend for a few more seconds before it finally began to slow down.

Her knees buckled the slightest as her platform came to a complete halt in an empty white room.

"Hello?" Tori yelled out as she tried to moved her legs.

* * *

Sam had to think quick, he had to somehow escape and find Tori before bailing it out of here.

A quiet hissing caught his attention, halting his thoughts as he tried to look all around him. Figures stepped down onto the floor of the room he was taken to.

Sam's eyebrows shot up instantly as the figures stepped into the light.

Wow.

The sirens approached and halted to stand half a foot away from Sam. All four figures were gorgeous women in tight white body suits. Each with an alluring and powerful look on their face.

"Can someone tell me what the…"

The two sirens in front of him lifted their hands but what had him quiet was the blazing light that shot and lit the tip of their index finger.

They bent down and began slicing through his pants.

All his previous thoughts instantly disappeared.

* * *

'Sam would so be enjoying this,' Tori thought bitterly with a hint of jealously as she took in the sight of four women surrounding her. But she couldn't help but not blame him, if she was a man or lesbian she was pretty sure she would be too. Then again she was also pretty sure straight girls would instantly be converted at the sight of them.

"Hey, I'm not a pro-HEY!"

Tori raised her arm to grab onto one of the woman's arms as they began stripping her down. However before she could even touch one, her whole body froze.

"Violence is not permitted, please refrain from struggling. Any further actions will result in an automatic deresolution."

The command echoed throughout the room and bounced off the walls eerily.

The sirens continued on unbothered before stepping away back toward the walls as Tori's outer clothes were being disposed of.

Goosebumps light straight up her skin as a cold crawling jitter crawled up her leg. Shocked, Tori looked down and watched in sure awe and panic as something black began crawling up her body. It stopped below her neck but finished all the way to the tips of her thumb, index and pinky finger; leaving the rest of her fingers unclothed.

Blinking in disbelief, Tori couldn't help but lift her hands to look at the fabric that fitted onto her. Hexagonal patterns covered the surface of the black fabric, it was thin but somehow a good insulator.

* * *

"This can't be good," Sam commented grimly as a chest and back plate was placed onto his person. The plates instantly began forming bridges to close the gap between them, almost conforming skin tight against him.

The suit vibrated the slightest as his suit basically lit up, lines went up all around his body.

"Attention program you will receive an identity disk,"

Sam watched as one of the women in front of him moved to his other side as another walked over toward a rising pillar.

"Everything you do or learn will be imprinted on this disk,"

A thick circular disk the size of a frisbee with a hole in the middle was brought towards him.

"If you loose this disk, or fail to follow commands, you will be subject to immediate deresolution."

'That doesn't sound too good,' Sam thought as he watched the brunette hand the 'identity disk' toward a darker skinned woman behind him.

* * *

The effect was instant.

Besides the now prominent added weight onto her back, a strange feeling over came her body as the disk was attached on to Tori's back plate.

"Marrying complete, disk activated and synchronized. Proceed to games," The woman to her right spoke much like a recorder. All four women began backing up simultaneously.

* * *

"Games?" Sam questioned.

"Where you going?" He watched as each woman began stepping back into a pod one by one before a white-haired siren was last.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sam stared at the woman hoping she would at least answer that question.

"Survive."

The hold on his lower body disappeared as the room dimmed in light the slightest. Sam turned when a sound alerted him to a door behind him. A bright light had him squinting but he moved forward toward it.

Even if he didn't want to, he had to follow the rules.

For now.

He needed to find Tori first. And maybe…maybe answers about his father as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Hands pressed tightly against the cool glass of the room, Tori strained her eyes to make out the silhouettes of the glowing figures beyond the glass wall. But despite the glow of all their suits, she could not make out Sam's face.

Then she heard it.

"Victoria!"

It was faint but she could clearly identify the low bartone voice as her best friend.

"Sam! Where are you?" She cried out with relief as she pressed her forehead against the window with her hands cupping around her eyes.

"I think I'm next to you!" He muffled back from her right. However before she could respond, the compartments they were in rose up into the air.

Now what?

There weren't any words she could have said that would have adequately described what she saw next.

"All combatants, prepare for Disc Wars."

Cheers rose and echoed all around them as they ascended above the ground. Turning around, foreign faces surrounded them in the thousands in a ring formation. Tori's view of the crowd was distorted as floating glass compartments came over the gaping entrance opposite form the glass wall. Looking around she noticed that the compartments they were housed in had separated and scattered uniformly around her.

She faltered in her steps for a moment as her compartment came to a halt. Blinking, she walked forward onto the floating glass room. Looking up she barely caught a familiar face as another glass compartment glided right a top hers.

Victoria moved to call for Sam but was interrupted once again but by the sound of footsteps.

Heading whipping back forward, Tori barely dodged a glowing disc-like projectile that followed with a long black-clothed arm. Stumbling to the side, she could barely get in a word before the combatant moved to slice her stomach.

* * *

Sam fell back startled as his opponent's identity disc careened straight past his shoulder. Shuffling to his hands and knees, he stared at the life-sized version of his action figure.

"You definitely didn't do that," He got out as he made his way back onto his feet. Turning to his right, Sam caught sight of another player promptly exploding into hundreds of little pieces by the same disc his opponent was holding. Not bothering to hide his shock, the young genius turned back to barely dodge another attack.

* * *

"W-wait!" Victoria tried to reason for the fourth time as she ran straight across the jointed compartments to the other side. Skidding to make a half turn, she glared and leaned back to move out of the way of the thrown disc. Luckily for her, her opponent did not seem to have any tact except throwing straight forward. Turning away, Tori watched as the disc bounced off the wall directly behind her toward the wall to her right.

Like a shark was after her, Tori shot after the disc as it made it's second bounce off the wall. Snatching the disc from the air, she ignored the slight friction against the fabric as the disc pushed against the fabric of her gloves harshly. Twisting her entire body, the female user flung the disc forcefully straight at it's owner with faster speed.

With a smirk, Tori relished in the shocked look of the player's face with both his out frozen to catch his disc. But what she didn't expect, was the disc to fly straight through the fingers and head of the player.

Tori's jaw dropped just as fast as the data cubes of her former opponent. Shock and fear filled her entirely.

"Player 4, deresolution."

What had she done?

* * *

Sam slid on his legs toward the opening on the floor, using his disc to block the opposing disc heading right toward him. He did not spare a glance as the deflected disc shot right through his second opponent.

Legs dangling in the air, Sam held on tightly with his fingers until he spotted the long black hair of his friend. Sam let go and pulled out his disc to crash through the glass panel of the roof to the compartment below.

"Combatant 6, deresolution."

"Combatant 3, violation."

Flying down, Sam quickly made way to crush through Victoria's surprised opponent. Placing his disc back into his back piece, he ran forward, jumping over the gaping hole in the middle straight toward Victoria.

"Combatant 3, violation."

"Come on!"

Not knowing what he was planning, Victoria just held tightly onto his hand as he positioned them at the one of the open walls.

"What are we waiting for?"

"That!"

Sam pulled them both out to fall onto the diagonal wall of a sailing compartment below them. A shriek left Victoria as she lost hold of Sam's hand as they landed smack onto the wall. Once again, she could not help but hate being a girl at times.

"Combatant 3, 7, violation"

There was no time to reprimand Sam as they began sliding down.

They both clawed fruitlessly against the smooth wall before they dropped like flies straight into another compartment.

"Initiating final round."

"Final round?" Victoria whispered frantically as they both watched as the walls of the final compartment distorted and lit up. All around them dimmed, the lights of their suits seemed to glow even more brightly.

"Combatant 3 versus Combatant 7 versus Rinzler."

Cheers for Rinzler rose all around them in a hum but it only seemed to dim as an eery…growl echoed the room.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sam and Victoria echoed together as they eyed the single figure across the room incredulously.

They both tensed as they watched the man, she assumed, pull his disc and split it into two! He surveyed his weapons before turning back to watch them in a mocking fashion.

Gulping, Victoria quickly made to pull her own disc for the first time. A surprised gasp left her as a helmet formed on her head.

Sam slipped his fingers into the grove framing his disc but could not pull them apart into two.

"Oh, come on. Is that even legal?" Sam said as he edged backwards as he tried to split his disc again.

Rinzler quickly set the game as he twisted and jumped to create momentum to throw his first disc. Immediately, both sets of eyes were focused onto the first disc as it made it's way from wall to wall toward them at amazing speed.

Victoria only shuffled to the side as the first disc ran straight through between the two. But the sound of another disc behind her had Tori sprawling onto the ground as she leaned back far too back to dodge it.

Breath still, she could have sworn her heart jumped from her ears as she watched the disc illuminate through her visor to sail past her head. But what had her truly frightened was the fact that she could literally feel the heat vibrating off the disc, her own disc dimmed in comparison to the power Rinzler's discs had.

Shit.

From her spot on the floor, she barely caught sight of Rinzler flipping sideways in the air to dodge Sam's disc before dropping to the ground to dodge the ricocheted object. Wasting no time, Victoria scrambled to her feet to send her own disc flying toward the crouched warrior.

Feet scramling in front of her to stop her leaning body, Tori's body barely held up from the force of her throw.

Sam caught his disc easily as he watched Tori's disc follow his same path only from a different angle with a bated breath.

Rinzler quickly jumped out from his position on the ground into a back flip, seemingly last minute. As he began descending head down, Victoria's disc glided straight below him before hitting low on the wall behind him, deflecting back toward it's owner at a slower speed.

"Why do I feel like we just got dunked on." Sam stated with a flat look as his best friend caught her disc. A frustrated sigh left Victoria as she agreed with Sam. An alarm filled the air around them but Sam did not seem to take heed as he began goading the player.

'What a guy, he's enjoying this,' Victoria thought as she glared at Sam before looking toward the rotating icon on the wall. Not understanding the meaning, she looked toward the Rinzler guy to try and get a hint. She seemed to catch his gaze, not that she could tell with his darkened helmet before he began sprinting toward the wall.

"Huh?" Sam voiced before a grunt was forced from him. A gasp left Victoria as she shot straight away from the ground below them and up toward the ceiling.

What was happening!

Back slamming straight onto the ceiling…ground, a strangled moan left her. The pain only seemed dismal as she quickly realized wriggling on the ground in pain would only get her killed. Looking to her side, Sam had already seemed to realize that and was quick to disintegrate the glass panel in front of him as Rinzler sailed down toward him with discs in hand.

Rolling onto her knees, Victoria quickly grabbed onto her fallen disc and ran toward the crouched pair as they both shot their heads toward each other to hold a steady stare. Victoria quickly sent her disc flying toward Rinzler as Sam grabbed onto his arm in shock.

Her disc seemed closer toward hitting her target as Rinzler quickly moved to dodge her disc, thankfully away from Sam. Despite being distracted by Sam, he was still quick to counter her attack.

Despite the lack of her only weapon in hand, Victoria used her momentum to sail right in front of Rinzler just as he landed back onto his feet. But he seemed more than ready for her as he shot a disc right toward her head.

"Tori!"

Ducking her head as she crouched onto her knees, Victoria slammed her elbow into Rinzler's stomach before sliding right between his legs. Her quick act to escape did not prove to be soon enough as his second disc quickly followed his brother to slash at her neck.

Twisting onto her knees, she reached out to catch her disc. With her free hand, Victoria touched her neck lightly and winced as a painful spark hit. Pulling her fingers in front of her, she looked in shock as blood dotted her ungloved fingers. She could still bleed in this world.

Damn, and her elbow throbbed like hell. What the hell were these programs made of?

The attack only seemed to stun Rinzler rather than actually hurt him, which did a jab at her pride. Rinzler moved to whip the legs from right under Sam before turning to jump in the air toward her.

Unfortunately, her body froze as she fell onto her back as her legs gave away. A shakey breath left her lips as she could not even bring her arms up to defend her as two legs slammed down on either side of her hips trapping her. She could only stare with wide eyes as Rinzler leaned down slowly to bring down one disc toward her. The fact that she could only see her illuminated terrified face reflecting off his helmet frightened her even more.

Time almost seemed to halt as deep rumbling vibrations rattled her body. They were coming from…him? Her harsh breathing quickened as Rinzler bent down his upper body even more. Slowly, his head tilted to the side and down almost as if he was examining her, no her neck.

Clamping his second disc onto his other hand, he moved his free hand to touch her neck.

"Get away from her!"

Sam broke the trance with an angered voice.

Victoria took in a large breath, almost as if trying to breath the moment away as Rinzler jumped away from her to dodge Sam's disc.

Rolling onto her stomach, Victoria looked at Sam in relief. The look on Sam's face reflected her relief before darkening once more. With a snarled look, he shot forward to attack Rinzler with new vigor.

"Wh-" Victoria paused as she felt something roll down her cheeks. Blinking, she looked down and saw her reflection. She was crying.

Then her world flipped upside down.

Again.

Fuck it all.

"Augh," Sam groaned out as he fell flat face first onto the glass wall again.

He had been running toward the masked fighter in calculated rage. Seeing his figure caving over Victoria had him in blinding rage in a split second. But what had him yelling out was the bastard's attempt to touch her, he did not have the right to even be near her. However half way through his sprint toward Rinzler, the gravity had shifted again.

The anger that filled him quickly washed his pain away as he made his way back onto his feet again. Looking around frantically, he caught sight of the sprawled Victoria a few feet away. He immediately began walking toward her but was stopped as a black blur slammed down on him sending both figures skidding across the ground.

Sam lost his grip on his disc as they came to a screeching stop, teeth grinding in pain, he glared up at the figure.

"Sam!" Victoria yelled out in panic as she raised her disc despite her person still sprawled on the ground. But she hesitated as Rinzler paused and stared at Sam.

What was happening?

"User…"

With wide eyes, her grip on her disc slacked enough to let the object slip and clatter on the ground.

Joining his discs, Rinzler quickly moved it back onto it's place on his back plate before hauling the bleeding boy onto his feet. Without missing a beat, he dragged Sam toward a shaking Victoria. His free hand shot out to grasp her upper arm to drag her onto her feet to his side.

"Hey, let her go!" Sam grint out as he tried to loosen his assailant's grip on his arm. Shaking to the core, her adrenaline rush began dissipating as the past events began hitting her. From Sam's look, she knew she was still crying, if not more. Turning her gaze, she froze as Rinzler's helmet faced her full out in a stare before slowly turning back forward. But despite the move, Victoria still felt very uncomfortable, almost as if he was still staring.

His fingers held onto her in an iron grasp but almost seemed to relax the slightest during his stare.

Rinzler pulled both users toward the middle of the platform to face a single tower.

Seconds passed before a voice echoed out and the only sound they heard was the disagreement of the crowd.

"Identify yourselves, programs."

"I'm not a program," Sam responded as he stared up at the tower with heaving shoulders. He was beyond tired but his heart beat at a fast rate, this wasn't over yet.

"Identify."

It was another voice, much more distorted than the first but clearly different.

Sam almost seemed to pause before responding once more.

"My name is Sam Flynn," Sam paused before continuing, "and this is Tori." He deliberately withheld her real name. He knew his name was more valuable in this world and knew it was enough to divert the attention toward him but did not want to give the chance to the ominous leader. They did not need to know about Victoria, and he would keep it that way.

Victoria had turned to stare at the still Rinzler with a strange look as she felt his fingers flex and almost massage at her arm before returning to their stiff position when her name had been called.

It was probably her imagination.

"Her full name."

The voice continued without missing a beat.

"Tori Stevens."

Victoria glanced at Sam in sorrow.

Even now, with both their lives in danger, he still sought to protect her despite his own safety.

'Oh Sam…'

Her train of thought was halted as Rinzler pushed them forward as the compartment housing them began lowering to the ground.

Fear began ebbing at her burning eyes once more encouraging her to look toward Sam in comfort. Sam looked back toward her with a strong look but reassuring smile.

'I will always protect you.'


	8. Chapter 8

Sam tilted his head to the side to take a glance behind them. Two guards followed behind closely with Rinzler stalking just behind them dauntingly. As they came to a halt onto another hexagonal platform, he gave no indication of the anxiety he felt as they were lifted up onto a stationed ship like structure at the tip of a tower.

Sam cleared his throat clearly and loudly when they were urged to move forward once inside the ship. From the corner of his eyes he saw Victoria nod the very slightest.

Victoria tried to grasp onto any courage left in her to steel her face from emotion as they made their way in. The first room seemed like a lobby with...four secretaries. Each sitting in a corner in a circular desk half way into the floor. Weird. The guards made no move to acknowledge tem as they stopped in front of a second door.

There at the window stood a tall figure with their back facing them.

"Let me go," Sam tried again as he tugged at the one of the hands clamped around his arms. Which surprisingly, they did after squeezing a bit harder in warning.

"Freaks," he murmured as Victoria stepped up to stand next to him. He immediately placed a hand on her lower back to pull her a bit closer.

Sam surveyed the figure before him before tilting his head slightly with narrowed eyes.

"Where am I?"

Victoria felt unsettled as the figure turned and all she could see was her reflection on his dark helmet. She couldn't see their eyes but could practically feel them burning into the pair.

"Am I on the Grid?" Sam persisted, determined to get some answers this time.

Feeling a small prickle on the back of her head, Victoria tilted her head to the side to glance behind them. She immediately froze for a second as she spotted Rinzler right behind them. His proximity bordered at personal space invasion. She turned her head straight in front of her once more at the intimidation she felt as he turned his head to face her.

"Who are you?"

The two user's jaws dropped in shock as a face was revealed to them.

"Dad…" Sam whispered as his hands flexed in shock.

Victoria's eyes were wide as she glanced back and forth from Sam to the man who was apparently…Mr. Flynn. Yet, the man who was supposedly Sam's father looked so…

Young.

"Sam. Look at you man, look at the size of you," 'Kevin Flynn' said with an odd smile as he moved down to their level to hold Sam's shoulders.

"And you are Ms. Stevens. You are quite the fighter, the both of you. I must say, that this is quite a pleasant surprise," Kevin complemented with a critical eye and tone as he stared intently at Victoria's face. Swallowing up whatever shock she had, Victoria nodded her head the slightest yet chose not to speak.

"How did you get in here?" Kevin said as he looked back at his 'son' before backing up.

"We..we got your message," Sam stuttered out breathlessly as he tried to grasp the situation at hand. His father had been here all the long. Right under all their noses.

"Oh," Kevin began pacing around them with a growing smile, "So it's just you two?"

"Yes," Victoria answered as she grasped Sam's limp arm that had dropped from her back.

"Just you…" The man seemingly speaking to himself.

"Isn't this something?" He continued joyfully as he made himself back over to face the two shocked users.

"You look the same," Sam interrupted softly as he stepped forward the slightest with disbelief.

"Oh, lots have happened Sam, more than you and Ms. Stevens here can imagine."

Victoria watched carefully as Sam's father continued to pace rather eagerly.

"Disc,"

Victoria and Sam heard Rinzler stepping up closer causing the woman to look back as Sam's disc was taken off from it's place and stepped in between the two adults forcing them to separate.

"Let's have a look…" Sam's father stalked off to the side and turned away from them once more blocking them from seeing what he was doing.

Sam became hyper aware as he felt the vibrations of Rinzler growling from his side. He turned and glared at him as he spotted Victoria away from him on the other side of the experienced player. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped as Victoria shook her head the very slightest.

Eyes furrowing in slight anger, Sam consented but with a small laugh before staring at his father's back. He was puzzled as to why he was acting so…strangely. After all this time, his father didn't seem like the father he remembered. What had happened for him to change. He looked like his father yet something felt…very different.

"Alright," Sam's father turned back around with Sam's disc in his hand.

"So…you were trapped in here," Sam concluded as he looked around.

"That's right."

Victoria was beginning to get very agitated as Sam's father began pacing around them once again. His whole persona screamed 'giddy child' under the cool exterior.

'But it isn't for Sam, not him exactly,' Victoria thought as she began glaring at the man. If this was Sam's father, this wasn't the man Sam described in his stories.

"And you're in charge," Sam shot out.

"Right again."

"So can we just go home now?" Sam finally said with an uneasy yet relieved chuckle.

Victoria glanced at Sam in worry. She wanted to feel happy for Sam and she was but something did not feel right. She wasn't quite sure if she even wanted him around Sam. Victoria knew deep down she was being extremely selfish and was worried that Sam's father returning would cause Sam to drift away from her. But at the same time, why had Sam's father been stuck here?

"Not in the card," Kevin Flynn's tone immediately took a different turn, "not for the both of you."

Victoria's lips pursed tightly in surprise as she burned holes into the back of the man's head. What.

"…That's a hell of a way to treat your son," Victoria shot back as the tension suddenly intensified by a thousand.

"Oh, that," 'Kevin Flynn' approached the woman who instantly felt like an quivering child as his towering figure stopped in front of her. He stared at her with a sadistic happiness in his eyes before he turned his head to look at Sam.

"I'm not your father, Sam."

Oh. My. God.

"But I'm very very happy to finally see you. And you as well Ms. Stevens," he drawled out her name as if knowing it wasn't her real name. He stepped back before stalking back toward the large window.

"Who are you then?" She demanded as she stepped forward but was held back as Rinzler grasped at her forearm.

"Clu…" Sam answered for her. He was lost in thought as he was being pulled away but began struggling with new vigor as he tried to get a glimpse at CLU once again.

"What did you do with him? Where is he!" Sam shouted out as they were escorted out of the room and back on the platform.

"Same thing I'm going to do to you."

A shiver ran down Victoria's spine.

This was not good.

It was eerily quiet as Sam and Victoria were forced to wait as the ship they were on moved down onto the main platform. Victoria was like a fish gasping for water as her mouth opened and closed as she tried to think of what to say. But there was nothing she could say because she wasn't sure what was happening.

"Dad is here Tori, we have to find him," Sam declared with a passive look. Tori looked at Sam but he was staring, no, glaring at the door that they had gone through. Biting her bottom lip she nodded slowly but solidly. She would do anything for him.

There were no words as they were pulled off and out of the ship and onto the stadium floor. The strange garbed, bald man that had stood beside CLU followed them out.

"Greeting programs," The man began and paused as a wave of cheers rose.

"Oh what an occasion we have before us. Because your rumors are true. We do indeed have in our midst, not one. But TWO Users! Users…" He turned to point viciously at the two of them. Negative jeers rose and filled the air.

"SO, what do these Users deserve? Might I suggest perhaps a challenge," he turned away with a smile," of the Grid?"

Victoria and Sam glanced at each other in confusion as cheers echoed once more.

"And, who best to battle these senior opponents..perhaps one who has some experience in this map?"

What.

'We don't even know what the hell you're talking about!' Victoria thought as she opened her mouth to shout at the man. An indignant muffle left her as a gloved hand clamped around her mouth from speaking. The ominous growling next to her ear stilled her. Oh.

"That's right programs. Your liberator. Your luminary. Your leader. The one who vanquished the tyranny of the User those many cycles before," The man chanted like a sweating pastor.

Sam stood solid as Clu, with his helmet on once again, leaned forward.

"I've been waiting for this," Clu whispered before walking to stand in front of the two Users.

"CLU"

"You want to play? I'll play," Sam countered as he squared his shoulders to match Clu's stature.

Victoria watched as the man brought over a long sleep, black object to Clu.

"Excellent words sir. Were you pleased with my execution?"

What a suck-up. Tori rolled her eyes at the display as he rabbled on.

"The crowd seemed quite energized."

"It wasn't meant for them."

Burn.

Hearing a quiet whirling sound, Sam tilted his head to try and catch a glimpse of what the announcer was holding. After Clu grasped what was inside, the man turned toward Sam with a disgusted look and reached out the object toward the two humans.

Victoria gasped inwardly at the display. She would call racism but considering their position, she wasn't quite sure what kind of discrimination this was. Nonetheless.

"Ass," She hissed as she reached and grabbed the last object in the box. She gave him a good glare before glancing down at what she was holding. It was a long flat rod that reached almost a foot in length with a glowing ring around the center and ends.

"What's this," Sam asked as he grasped the baton with two hands and flexed around trying to figure out what it was, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Victoria tilted her head as Sam held it out like a sword. She was in awe as she thought Sam had already figured out what it was. She moved to hold it like he was with a curious tilt of the head.

A small mocking laugh left the man.

"I'll give you a hint, not that," he grimaced his face at Sam.

Victoria's face burned in embarrassment and couldn't help but feel hurt at the mockery. She looked down before glancing at Sam. His face did not hold any hint of offense but could tell he was annoyed at the weasel of a man.

Spotting Tori from the corner of his eye, Sam turned to her, mentally chastising himself for forgetting about her. Her red cheeks and upset eyes pulled strings inside him making him angrier at himself and the man. Sam pulled the woman toward him and leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. He felt his muscles relax the slightest as he breathed in Victoria. Despite all that was happening, he was glad she was with him. And he would protect her for that.

Victoria closed her eyes enjoying the moment for a second before reaching up to kiss Sam's chin. She didn't care that they were standing in view of all the crowd and CLU or the weasel-like man. She was content.

They would survive this.

They pulled apart but did not move away from each other as they turned to stare at CLU. Who in turn, was staring at them with a tilt of his head before walking away in the opposite direction.

"The Grid is live."

The automated female voice echoed once again.

"Initiating Light Cycle Battle."

Turning to the other side of them, Tori and Sam blinked in bewilderment as three men descended from the floor behind them. They too, had a look of confusion but at the same time they seemed like they knew what was happening. The two watched unmoving as the programs stared at the two of them.

A strange sound had them all looking toward CLU as the lead program began running. And what happened next was something Victoria had never in a million years would have guessed would happen. She could barely get out of the way as multiple light cycles zoomed past them at a fast pace.

"You've got no chance User, their bikes are faster than ours," One program advised as he stopped to speak to them, "Use the levels."

The two users watched as the programs that were supposedly on their team activated their own cycles.

Victoria looked down at the baton and realized the light strip in the middle was where they were to "break" the baton to activate the bike.

"Now this, we can do," Sam commented as he looked down at Victoria with a smirk.

Victoria stared at Sam before smirking in return.

Game on.


	9. Chapter 9

The two Users nodded at each other before stepping away to put space in between them. They stood still, hearts pounding in their ears before they began their sprint forward.

Sam could feel his blood pumping in all parts of his body as he lifted the baton up and grasped the opposite ends with both hands. He couldn't hear Victoria beside him but he knew she was following his movements.

Sucking in a tight breath, Sam took a strong push off the ground and lunged forward until his body was parallel to the ground. High in the air, he quickly snapped the baton in two and felt the vibrations it let off as lights streamed out from the 'broken' end of each handle. As the bright white light quickly knotted into the complicated inner works of the light cycle, the weight of the bike quickly pulled him down to the ground.

But before it could touch the ground, he quickly revved the engine and was off as it's wheels landed on the luminescent floors.

He had never felt so free.

* * *

A staggered gasp left Victoria as her bike landed a bit roughly on the floor. Though her knuckles were white from gripping on the handles as she soared across the board beside Sam, on the inside she was a quivering mass of jelly.

If this was anything like the battles they had to fight a few minutes ago, this was going to be brutal.

Hearing a mass of engines pull up, Victoria's head shot up to glance around her. The programs that had warned them earlier had pulled up to form a V-shaped ensemble with them in the center.

Unlike the opposing team, all their light cycles were shades of white and blue. Sam's bike, an iridescent blue while hers was the same but slightly lighter.

She slowly leaned to the slight as she guided the bike to take a large turn with the rest of the group. Ahead of them were the intense crimson bikes as they patterned across the grid leaving streaks of red.

Her heart, if possible, began beating harder.

"Here we go," Sam whispered as they neared their enemies.

The two at the ends of their formation quickly spit off until three of them were left. Then the man on Sam's right took the tunnel down into the bottom layer.

Sam then glanced to his left and spotted Victoria still following faithfully.

They continued cruising forward watching one of the players on their team in the lower level get surprised and crash into a stream of red light as the opposing player streaked in front of him last minute. He was quickly derezzed into hundreds of pieces of light.

Sam quickly looked forward again, this was not good.

"We need to work together!" He shouted through his helmet, hoping she heard. The slight nod of her head was her indicator that she heard and understood.

"If we-"

"SAM!"

Sam whipped his head forward as Victoria pointed to right his side.

The red player crashed into his side putting Sam off balance the slightest as the program tried to get him to loose control of his bike. Then Sam's stomach dropped likea bomb as his bike lurched down as he fell into a level divider.

With a relieved sigh, he looked up with a smug smirk at the program who was as equally surprised.

"Ah!"

Victoria's surprised shout notified him that she wasn't beside him anymore.

She was pushed off by another red program into a different direction.

Shit.

* * *

Victoria's teeth grinded into each other angrily as she was tailed by a program, she was at full speed but the program was slowly inching forward. Spotting a spiraling tunnel, she quickly took that chance to go in. She stood in the outer ring of the spiral as the program drove skillfully in the inner ring.

Totally not fair.

She was touching the indicating level arrows and could feel her bike speed up but so was the program. Spotting her opportunity she quickly slammed on the brakes and ceased creating her own light streams letting the program speed past her. She could see the program glance back but continue down. Speeding her bike up once more, she could see the program reach the last spiral and move toward the lower level.

Victoria then took a leap of faith.

* * *

Sam let out a cry of excitement as he mimicked the move he had seen before by one of the programs and forced the red program to crash into his white light. Their team was slowly picking off the red programs but so were they in taking out their members one at a time, especially CLU.

Looking around he spotted a white cycle stream down a spiraling tunnel with a red cycle hot on his heels. Sam prayed that that wasn't Victoria but as he watched the white cyclist make a skidding stop in the middle of the first ring and nearly get run over by the red cyclist, he knew it was her.

He then watched with a bated breath as she paused for a second before jumping off and down the middle of the spirals. Her arm reached back and pulled out her identity disk, activating it.

Sam could feel himself hold his breath as she crashed onto the ground beside the program and forced her disk down his neck, derezzing the biker. He was about to let out another shout of victory when her bike smashed into pieces under her sending her tumbling along with the red program's ownerless bike.

"TORI," Sam bellowed out as he quickly began making his way toward her.

She lay motionless.

* * *

CLU watched Sam as well as Victoria's rather foolish act with a smirk. They were performing just as he expected, this was more exciting than he anticipated.

Spotting the last program on the opposing team make his way toward him from his right, CLU waited calmly.

His bike jerked to the left slightly as the program crashed into him.

'Bad move,' he thought as he lifted his hand to take a slice at the program's exposed neck. As he hit the surface, the program immediately went limp onto his bike.

Reaching over, CLU deactivated the auto cruise and drove away as the bike teetered out of control.

'Now, to get to the real business,' CLU began making his way to the down Victoria.

He let out a laugh.

This was going to be good.

* * *

As he made his way toward her as fast as he could, Sam was caught off guard as CLU shot down over him to land beside him. Sam moved out of the way before CLU could push him but could not stop the disk that flew from CLU's hand to hit the rear end of his bike.

Sam was sent flying and rolling across the cold floor. Coughing out the impact from the fall, Sam quickly stood and pulled out his disc.

CLU was circling them as he moved to catch his flying disc.

Paying heed to the distracted CLU, Sam ran toward Victoria's fallen figure. He kneeled after making sure CLU was still far and laid a hand on her neck.

"Victoria, you need to wake up," He said feverishly as he brushed her bangs away from her face. She was not responding, not even a twitch.

"Vic-shit," Sam was back on his feet standing over his fallen friend with disc out front.

Then a blinding light from the side had Sam stepping back, almost stepping on Victoria's hand, to shield his eyes. That something landed on the ground roughly with a stream of light behind it.

It stopped as CLU crashed into the white stream but he had maneuvered the bike so he would not derezze but simply use the impact of the crash to sail over the light.

"Illegal combatant on the Grid,"

Sam stared in awe at the car and it's large ass wheels. His attention was quickly stolen as the top of the vehicle lifted up.

"Get her and get in," A scrambled voice echoed as the rider turned it's head toward Sam. Sam looked around in a panicked motion, not quite sure if he should trust the stranger.

"Get. IN"

Sam quickly scooped up Victoria off the ground and moved into the only available seat with the unconscious woman on his lap. Before the top of the vehicle could settle back down, the driver was off taking an erratic but skilled turn down the Grid.

"System failure, release Rinzler,"

The Light Buggy made it's way up toward the top level.

Sam looked into the side rear-view mirror and could see the orange dot on the ground as CLU. CLU slowly stood as three streaks of red light streamed past him.

"Game on, old friend."

"Uhh, hey, we've got company," Sam said as he watched the three programs including Rinzler flip on panels to access the top level.

"Hang on," the driver replied.

The car took a jerk as it smashed into the program riding beside them. Victoria's head bobbed back and forth against Sam's chest. Sam lifted a hand to gently hold her head still as he glanced at the driver.

"Who are you?" He yelled through the sounds of the booing crowd. His question remained unanswered as he, Sam assumed, pressed buttons beside the gear shift.

"What was-"

The car shook the slightest as something exploded from behind them.

Oh.

But someone was still behind them.

Then the car shot missiles into the wall of the stadium showing a gaping cliff slide.

'What kind of car is this? Oh crap, we're not going to make that!" Sam thought and was quick to voice that as they neared the edge. His whole body tensed as he unconsciously wrapped his arms around the passenger in his lap to protect her from the imminent crash into the cliff side. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten in the car!

"Made it."

Sam glared weakly at the driver.


	10. Chapter 10

Tori's mind was fogged as she drifted from consciousness to unconsciousness. She attempted to say something or at least make a sound but could not muster the strength to do so.

'I didn't realize I was this tired,' she barely made out as she finally managed to make a noise. It was a rather pathetic moan but it was better than nothing.

"-toria, Vic-," A deep voice echoed as something tapped her cheeks lightly.

There was only one person who would do that.

"Mnnhh…..Sam?" Victoria croaked out giving instant relief to the worried Sam. He continued tapping at her face with a bit more force to rouse her from her sleep.

"Yeah, this is Sam. You need to wake up Tori, you might have a concussion," Sam said as he propped her up further in a sitting position.

"Did we win?"

A chuckle escaped the stranger before Sam could let one out as well. Sam stole a look at the silent stranger who had rescued them, she, he guessed due to her..uh..assets, hadn't spoken since getting them out of the city limits.

"Heh, yeah we won," Sam replied with a small smile as Victoria finally opened her eyes.

Tori blinked owlishly as she tried to clear away the glare of the artificial lights. From her position she stared up through the clear roof of the vehicle at the artificial sky. Peace filled her for once, they were safe.

She hoped.

She tilted her head and found herself staring into Sam's eyes. She smiled at him wordlessly without realizing she was doing so.

Sam chuckled at the out-of-it look in Tori's eyes and her silly smile but was glad. He leaned back farther into his seat as she turned from sitting horizontally across his lap to be facing forward as well. He turned his head the slightest to face the window as Tori leaned back to rest her head against his shoulder.

"So why aren't they-" Sam froze for a split second as the stranger's helmet shifted away to show a young woman. Her angled pixie cut complimented her petite angled face as well as the strong look in her eyes.

"They're not following but it's not by choice. Their vehicles are designed to work on this terrain. They'll malfunction on this grid," She answered his unfinished question with a smirk before releasing one hand from the wheel to hold it out with an enthusiastic smile.

"I'm Quorra,"

Seeing that she was pretty much squishing Sam, Tori quickly shook the available hand with a return smile.

"I'm Victoria. Assuming you pretty much saved our asses, Thank you," Tori said gratefully as she let go of the energetic woman.

"No problem," Quorra replied as she continued her drive.

"But what about us?" Sam piped in, obviously worried about the malfunction issue.

"Hah, obviously not."

Quorra only seemed to speed up as the terrain became rougher very much worrying her two passengers.

Lighting flashed ahead ominously.

Sam let out an exasperated breathe as he tried to relax through the ride but was finding it a bit difficult to do so.

For one, Quorra's driving was just as bad as his on a bike.

Two, though he liked the feeling of Tori on his lap, she was cutting off his blood circulation. And her constant squirming was making it very hard for him to deal with.

Third, he had no idea Quorra was taking them and he was beginning to doubt his trust in the stranger.

"Where are you taking us?" Sam voiced.

"Patience, Sam Flynn. All your questions will be answered soon," Quorra evaded.

Then she jetted into a sliver of a tunnel on the towering mountain side.

"Hold on!" Sam exclaimed as Tori let out a gasp as they barely skimmed the walls of the tunnel.

Quorra simply laughed at their reactions as she jerked the wheel in a tight turn as they began their ascent up a zig-zag road.

Quorra turned to observe the two Users as things fell quiet in the car. The two were very much fascinated by the environment from their wide eyes bringing a small smile to her face. Looking down at their intertwined hands, she couldn't help but be just as fascinated as the two were. They were performing a ritual that almost seemed at a subconscious level and displayed all signs of a couple yet, they still seemed distant. The digital being forced her eyes away as the two humans made eye contact.

Though she wanted to continue observing, she did not want to crash or drive off a cliff. At least, not now. This was too important.

Quorra finally seemed to slow down as she drove into another tunnel that slowly turned into a structured garage-like room.

Sam and Tori got out of the vehicle and followed the silent Quorra onto another platform. As the platform began moving upwards, for a second they were moved into pitch darkness. The only source of light coming from their illuminating suits.

'I wonder why we aren't toasting in this thing,' a fleeting thought passed Tori as she waited for the platform to stop.

She missed the good old fashion stairs.

Then there was light at the end of the tunnel. Metaphorically speaking as they arrived into an expanse room. Where a single man in all white sat stock still dead center in the room. Surrounding the man were fluttering streams of light.

Sam almost seemed to tense up completely as Quorra asked them to stay put as she made her way toward the man.

"Quorra, I dreamed of Tron…first time in years,"

If Sam was tense before, Victoria could tell he was practically twitching in anxiety as the man acknowledged Quorra.

Victoria and Sam unconsciously leaned in the slightest to try and catch Quorra's quiet reponse.

"It's a sign," Quorra whispered.

"A sign, aha ha ha my dear apprentice, of a weary soul,"

Sam began moving forward.

"What, Sam," Victoria whispered frantically.

"I'm afraid something's happened…" The man finished as the man's shoulders began rising.

"Something has happened, we have guests,"

"There are no guests here,"

Sam stopped his advancement with Victoria just behind him on the lower platform. They stood quietly, not sure what to say as the unknown figure slowly made his way to face the 'guests.'

The lights were like a godsend as all their faces were revealed.

"Sam, long time," the man whispered with an all too familiar face.

Victoria sucked in a harsh breath.

No way.

"You have no idea…" Kevin Flynn was quick to make his way toward his grown son.

"Y-you're, you're here!" Kevin continued as he looked Sam from head to toe disbelievingly.

"You're here!"

"I-I'm here.."

It took a while for Sam to embrace his father back.

Tears hung from Victoria's eyes as she wrung her fingers together happily.

"And you brought a friend," A shuttered laugh left Kevin.

"Yeah…" Sam replied.

They slowly separated. And once again they were looking at each other, hoping with all their heart that if this was a dream, they would never wake up.

"You're big."

"You're…"

"Old," Kevin finished unashamed.

Victoria was struggling not to roll her eyes at the conversation.

'Men…'

She did not want to ruin the mood though.

Sam broke out in laughter, fingers twitching to yearn to embrace his father again.

"How'd you get in?" Kevin asked in almost a whisper as a grave look slowly began settling in.

"Alan came over," Sam began as happy recollection filled his father's face, "He got your page, from your office…under the arcade."

Now, something was really wrong, Victoria noticed as Kevin visibly wilted.

"The page, of course the page," Sam's father mumbled more to himself than to Sam.

Then silence set in.

Quorra made her way in as an opportune moment came in.

"CLU had them on the light cycle grid," She cut in with a small laugh, "I intervened."

That seemed to have the two Flynn men chuckling, though it seemed to only fill the growing silence.

"Settle in, we'll talk then," Kevin said distantly as he abruptly walked away. Sam let out a confused smile but remained silent as he watched his father walk away once again.

Quorra too, seemed confused like Sam and Tori but not as much as she addressed them.

"He never thought that he'd see you again," She supplied.

Victoria pursed her lips as Sam struggled to let out a response.

"Yeah…"

This was not as how Victoria imagined this reunion to be. Tori lifted her hand to rest on the valley between Sam's shoulder blades before looking away.

"Wow," Tori gasped as she walked toward the sleek white vehicle that looked very much like the light cycles they had been on.

"Vintage," Quorra said proudly as she walked forward to join Tori, "Flynn built it many cycles ago for the games."

Sam now joined them to ogle at the white cycle.

Victoria looked at Sam and could tell the distraction was needed but he was clearly bothered by his father's lack of warmth.

"It doesn't get out as much as it used to…but still the fastest thing on the grid."

Victoria broke off from the tour as Quorra made her way toward the bookshelf. Tori opted to head toward the other side of the room. But as she picked up the rather flawless metallic apple off the dining table, Tori snuck a look at Kevin's back as he stood out on the patio.

The apple was now back in the bowl as she followed the direction of Kevin's stare toward the city they just escaped. Did he know something they didn't?

'Well, everyone here knows more than we do,' she thought dryly as she decided to rejoin the other two.

"…but between you and me, Jules Verne is my favorite," Quorra said conspiratorily as she had a starry look, "Do you know Jules Verne?"

"Sure," Sam said faintly as he turned away.

"What's he like?"

Sam stopped in his track as his eyebrows furrowed at Quorra's frantic question.

Laughter cut through the air as Victoria shook in amusement at Quorra's child-like innocence and misunderstanding of Sam's response.

Quorra looked between the two Users quizzically as Sam joined Tori in laughing.

"No, no. Sam meant…"

Kevin Flynn turned away from the city with a heavy heart to face his residence.

'No, it's home,' Kevin corrected as he immediately eyed his son, unable to stop the tears from welling in his eyes. Seeing the three figures now smiling together sent the tears running down the god-like User's face.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, sorry that I haven't been updating lately! Finals week is closing up on me quickly and I haven't had time open between my social life and school life. But I am definitely still going to update my stories. So please don't give up on me!

* * *

By now, Victoria Turner had stopped trying to understand how anything worked in the digital world she had been forced into.

For example, she wasn't quite sure how she, Sam, and Kevin Flynn were able to have a meal made out of numbers and pixels and be able to taste it. It baffled her, yet she did not think into it knowing that she would go insane if she did.

On the other hand…

'the amount of awkwardness in this room is a no brainer,' Tori thought as she ate trying to make as little sounds as possible, 'and it's killing me!'

She had just survived a motorcycle chase with Sam, a disc battle with Rinzler, and a cycle to the death with CLU.

'And it's an inherent ineptness between father and son to communicate that's going to kill me,' Tori caught Quorra's eyes and nearly deadpanned at the excitement and curiosity in the program's eyes. Quorra was fascinated by this moment and didn't want to seem to miss anything as she shifted back and forth between Tori, Sam, and Kevin.

And it was nerving to say the least.

"How old are you and Sam now?"

Tori was tempted to kiss the girl for her bravery in trying to break the ice.

"I'm turning 26 soon," Tori answered wincing as her voice practically echoed in the room. She quickly took a drink from her luminescent drink. She didn't bother asking what it was either.

"Ah, you're so young! That's a great in your life to be in," Kevin tuned in with a genuine smile, "And if I'm not mistaken, you must be 27 now Sam."

There was a delay in Sam's response as the son of Flynn looked at his father.

"Yes, 27."

"Do you guys attend college?"

Quorra to the rescue once again.

"Caltech/USC"

Sam and Tori looked at each other with a smirk when they synched their answers together.

That notion wasn't lost to either surveyors.

Kevin placed his fork down and rested his elbows on the table. Weaving his fingers together, he smiled proudly at his son.

"Caltech, my alma mater."

"Yup."

'Wow, this conversation is getting no where,' Tori thought as she fought to roll her eyes since Kevin was looking at her now.

"USC, that's a wonderful school. Are you planning on entering the medical field?"

"Yes, my parents own a large medical supplying business,"

"Intech, am I right?"

The shock in her face must have been ridiculous considering Kevin broke into a small laugh.

"I recognized your name, but I wasn't too sure. How are your parents by the way?"

"Oh, my father is dead,"

Wow, if that wasn't a conversation killer, she didn't know what was.

"My mom is running now and she's great," Tori added smoothly.

"Ahh, I'm sorry for your loss..."

Tori smiled sadly.

"So how did you guys meet?" Quorra asked.

"Uhh, I met Sam at a café. We shared a table since it was really crowded," Tori followed the change in topic happily, "I helped him with his…his uh.."

Uh-oh.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to bring this topic up.

"With one of my best papers, my resignation paper. I dropped out," Sam came in with a challenging tone.

Quorra cracked up laughing and Tori let out a nervous chuckle.

Both girls were silenced by the parental disproval in Kevin's eyes.

The giant roasted pig at the middle of the table never seemed so interesting as now.

"Work?" Kevin asked expectedly.

Tori decided to stay out of the conversation.

"Job? Encom? Are you…"

"No," Sam cut in before Kevin could finish his question, "I check in once a year."

Tori could not hide her sputtering and the cup held to her face did nothing to muffle it.

Sam smirked openly.

Kevin Flynn stared at the blushing woman with a raised brow, now he was fully looking back and forth between the two.

Trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

"Wife? Girlfriend?"

Tori felt like crawling into a hole as all three occupants of the table looked at her blatantly.

"Dog," Victoria practically shouted out to reel the attention away from her.

"Marvin," Sam said with a happy smile, "he's a rescue."

Kevin Flynn was no fool.

"Oh, dogs…dogs are cool."

Tori was sure Quorra didn't know what to say now.

As the foggy emotions from the reunion faded away, Sam knew he was getting angry. Here he was, years later after his father's disappearance, eating food with his father on the Grid. And despite all that he had just gone through, there was still one question that he had.

"I'm sure you must have a few questions of your own," Kevin Flynn stated sadly as he stared at his son's cold eyes.

Sam took his time to wipe his mouth accordingly.

"Actually, just one."

Quorra glanced up quickly with wide eyes to look at Sam.

"Why I never came home."

The silence was his answer.

"Those nights when I went to the office, I'm sure you've figured it out by now. I've was coming here," Kevin reached for his drink, "Human form into digital space. Heavy stuff."

"But I also had you," Kevin said with a tone of affection, "I had ENCOM, I couldn't be in here all the time. I needed partners to help me out."

"Tron and CLU?" It was more a statement than a question.

"That's right, Tron was created by Alan for the old system. I brought him here to protect this one. CLU was my creation, a program designed to make a perfect world…We were jamming man, we were building a Utopia. Hours in here were just minutes back home. Just when I thought it wouldn't get anymore profround. Something unexpected happened," Kevin explained, his eyes glazing over in remembrance.

"The miracle."

Sam's voice seemed to snap his father out from his memories.

"The miracle. You remember! ISOs. Isomorphic algorithms. A whole new life form."

"Did you create them?" Tori asked eyebrows furrowed.

Kevin let out a joyous laugh.

"No. No. They manifested, like a flame. They weren't really from anywhere…"

As the conversation carried on, Victoria was entrapped in what Kevin was saying. The excitement was easily transferred into herself as she tried to imagine how everything happened.

However, she could not say the same for Sam.

Despite it all, Sam's question had yet to be answered and he was growing in contempt. Kevin described the ISOs with pride and amazement, almost as if Kevin were describing his child to a stranger.

'Is that what I am now Dad?' Sam thought somberly as he continued to listen, 'a stranger…'

"The ISOs, they were going to be my gift to the world," Kevin said from his place beside the fireplace.

"So, what happened?"

"CLU," A dark look crossed Kevin's face, "CLU happened."

* * *

"Tron, he fought for me. I never saw him again."

"So why didn't you fight?" Sam asked with a slight edge in his voice.

"Hmmm…"

"He did," Quorra defended from beside Tori on the couch.

"CLU fed on my resistance, the more I fought, the more powerful he became," the memories seem to wear Kevin down as he took a seat back in his chair with a heavy weight on his shoulders.

* * *

Tori let out a shaky gasp as Kevin divulged into CLU's betrayal. She covered her mouth in disbelief and felt sadness for the ISOs.

Cruelty didn't seem to have limits to where it started and who or what it came from.

"I tried to get back…but I couldn't get to the portal," Kevin could not face his son by now and looked towards the floor instead, "it uses massive power, and it can't stay open forever. And like a safe, it…it can only be opened from the outside."

Sam was speechless.

"It closed on me, Sam," Kevin stared into Sam's eyes urgently, "That's why I never came home."

Tori held back as she observed Sam insisting on making a break for the open portal before it closed on them. But Kevin was just as insistent on slowing Sam down. Quorra and Kevin emphasized the importance of Kevin's disc remaining safe away from the Grid and CLU.

"It's the master key, the golden ticket. The only way out," Kevin explained.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked in almost a whisper.

"Our worlds are more connected than anyone knows, CLU figures that if I can be in…"

"He can be out?"

Quorra joined the Flynn family out on to the patio leaving Tori the only one remaining indoors.

"With my disc, it's possible."

"And then what?"

"Game over. The guy doesn't dig imperfection…what's more imperfect than our world? I can't let that happen, I won't."

Then tension arose between the father and son once more.

Their ideals were beginning to clash.

"Tell me, what brought you here?"

Tori wasn't liking where the conversation as going.

"I told you, Alan got your page," Sam repeated exasperated.

"I didn't send any page."

Tori's jaw dropped the slightest in realization.

"It was CLU," Kevin stated grimly, "CLU sent that page, that's why you're here. This is all his design, he wanted a new piece on the board to change the game!"

Kevin pointed at Tori startling the girl, "With you two, he got exactly what he needs! This is precisely what he wants. Us heading toward the portal together! It's his game now. The only way to win is not to play."

Uncensored horror filled Victoria to the core. They were going to be trapped on the Grid, forever. And if they did anything, CLU would destroy them for sure and then make his way to the real world to destroy it as well. She would never be able to see her mother, Melvin, the imperfect world that she loved.

Tori pushed back the dark thoughts and followed after Sam with Quorra as he stomped his way back towards their room.

Just as they turned, Sam reached out and grabbed her elbow to pull her to a stop beside him. Sam looked at both females with an indignant look.

"How can he be afraid of his own creation? I mean he built CLU, so why doesn't he just end him?" Sam whispered furiously.

Quorra looked back down the hallway as if making sure Kevin wasn't there.

"He could, but it would require reintegration."

"Yeah, all right?"

Tori narrowed her eyes at Sam's rather disrespectful tone.

"Flynn would never survive the event. It would be the end of them both," Quorra calmly brushed Sam's anger to explain the situation.

"If he refuses to save himself, then I will."

"How?" Tori asked slowly.

Sam bore his gaze into Tori with frightening resolution.

"I'm going through the portal."

Sam quickly continued before Tori could rebuke, "CLU wants Flynn's disc, not mine. I'm going to find Alan, and we're going to figure this thing out from the outside. This may be CLU's game here but in my world, CLU is gone with one key stroke. But I can't do anything unless I get to the portal."

Quorra looked at Tori uneasily and could see the anxiety in her as well.

"And my guts tell me that you don't want to be stuck in this place for eternity either."

Victoria could tell Quorra was fighting herself to pick a side. But she wasn't quite sure what side the program would take. Kevin's side, the mentor who saved and raised her away from CLU. Or Sam's side, the one chance at saving Kevin's life and leaving the Grid.

"I really think you should consider your father's wisdom," Quorra whispered sadly.

"I have," Sam replied.

Quorra pursed her lips before choosing to walk away without a response.

Tori was at an crossroad and did not know which road to take. Shaking her head, she turned and walked toward the bedroom without looking at Sam.

Sam Flynn watched as both women walked away from him with disbelief.

Did no one believe that his plan would work?

"Tori," Sam called out as he followed her making sure to close the door behind him.

She sat on the bed with her face in her hands. She did not seem to be crying but her shoulders trembled the slightest.

Sam hesitated before sitting beside her and pulling his best friend into a tight hug. He tucked her head under his chin and pat her back in silence.

"Trust me," Sam whispered.

Tori slouched into Sam's embrace.

'I never stopped trusting you,' she thought staring into the hexagonal patterns of his under suit.

Sam placed a light kiss on the top of her head as if he had heard her thoughts.

A light knock had them separating.

The urgency in Quorra's entrance had the two focusing at the matter at hand.

"There's someone I once knew…" Quorra began.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the late update.

000

Sam felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude as Quorra shared her secret with them. Fingering the small flat data Sam looked up to thank Quorra but only watched as she quickly scurried away, gently closing the door behind her. Pursing his lips, Sam stood up and paced for a while.

"You're determining if you should leave me here so you can go alone aren't you?" Victoria's voice echoed in the brightly lit room ominously. Sam continued to pace as if he had not heard her. Though she did spot the pause in his step when she finished her question, she was right.

"Whatever you're thinking, I'm going with you whether you like it or not," Tori said calmly with a dangerous undertone in her voice.

Sam finally stopped pacing and glanced up at the only window of the room. He could see out onto the patio deck and right to another window. And in that room across from them, Quorra sat on her own bed thinking.

"It would be faster if I went alone Tori, you have to stay here. It's much safer here with Dad and Quorra protecting you," Sam advised as he made his way towards the door.

Quick on her feet, Victoria followed after Sam quietly.

"I can protect myself Sam, and who will be protecting you huh? You get in trouble way more than I do," Tori whispered harshly.

"I can protect myself-"

"Yeah, well so can I."

"You-" Sam shut his mouth as the smaller woman stared up at him challengingly as he wheeled around. They stood there staring at each other, daring the other to back down until Sam finally broke.

Victoria visibly twitched as Sam placed a hand on her cheek gently, his thumb stroked her scabbed scratch lightly.

"I know you can. But please do this for me," Her eyes softened as they took in Sam's concern, "Just once. I'll be out in no time and back in for you. All of you. And that won't happen if something happens to you on the way."

She let out an exasperated breath.

A smile broke out of Sam's kicked puppy-dog session.

Victoria only let out a grunt as he began pushing her back toward their room.

"You have to go to sleep, so Dad won't suspect that you knew," Sam began lecturing.

"Mmhm."

"Make sure you get Quorra to act surprised as well,"

"Mmhm. I know what to do Sam, I've done this before," Victoria rounded around and crossed her arms petulantly.

Sam stared at her rather intensely causing her to blink in surprise.

"Sam?"

"I'll be back, I promise."

They embraced each other tightly.

"I know you will. Don't forget to look after your own ass."

Sam leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek before walking out the door.

With his hand on the door, Sam turned to close the door. He caught sight of Victoria's lost look and faltered. Without a word he took a step back in and made a decision.

Victoria's heart cried out as Sam caught her on the lips for a brief moment that lasted an eternity. A blissful eternity.

Victoria could not dream but she did not mind the darkness she rested in. Her lips crooked in a silly smile even in her dream state. They did not share words after the kiss but a promise was made, an undeniable attraction that overlapped and merged with their unbreakable friendship.

Then it all came crashing down.

"Victoria!"

Hands shook her from her sleep. Eyebrows furrowed, Victoria squinted trying to blink away the blinding pain that seared through her eyeballs as her room lit up suddenly.

"Victoria, you need to wake up. Where is Sam?" Kevin Flynn asked worriedly as he grasped her shoulders firmly. Behind him, Quorra stared at her with a different kind of worry.

Victoria looked back and forth between Quorra and Kevin before Sam's father trapped her with a parental stare.

"I-"

"Victoria, this is very important. I know you realize how Sam attracts the attention of trouble everywhere he goes. I need to know. Where. He. Is."

Sam would have been lying to himself if he wasn't in awe at the whole environment of the End of the Line club. As he was ushered by Gem around the bar, he glanced uneasily at the guards lounging around casually. Strangely, they stared at him through their dark visors like hawks before turning back toward their company. He had been weary when Gem had approached him on the street. So he had been quick to try and leave until she mentioned his search. And now he was here. Looking for Zuse (not Zeus like in the myths).

The music was hypnotic as it rang into his ears.

"Thank you for bringing my son to me," Kevin Flynn said with true gratitude toward Quorra before he turned toward Victoria, "And thank you for taking care of my son. And I ask of you to please continue to do so."

Victoria nodded solemnly.

"You don't have to do this! I've sent him to someone we can trust!" Quorra cut in frantically stepping toward the grim Flynn.

"Quorra, there is no choice…I won't lose him again."

Victoria stepped up to place a hand over one of Quorra's trembling fists. Kevin smiled in an ironic fashion.

"Chaos. Good news."

The two women just watched as Kevin walked away from them.

"Thank you," Sam directed toward the white haired woman.

"Gem, my name is Gem," She replied back with a sly smile.

The intense atmosphere in the light buggie was suffocating, even more than before. Victoria sat in the back, which Kevin had been quick to program into the vehicle when they realized it only housed two seats. Hands wrung on her lap almost bruisingly as Victoria kept her eyes down in guilt. She could see the storm behind Kevin's calm demeanor as he drove the cycle skillfully. In front of her toward the right in the front passenger seat, Quorra remained silent as well. She too, was scolding herself in the guilt she felt. She could not help but feel wrong for giving Sam the information but at the same time, hope that she was right and Kevin's worries weren't needed. She glanced from under her eyelashes at her mentor.

She hoped Kevin would be freed from the Grid and back in his home with his son.

Sam smiled as Castor let out a chuckle, Gem had led him to Castor and Castor had led him to Zuse. Who turned up to be Castor himself.

The horizon never looked any brighter.

"After the Purge, I needed to reinvent myself. Self preservation, you understand," Zuse tapped his glass against that of Sam's. Both took a sip casually.

"Now, what can I do for you?" All the cheeriness seemed to have filtered away and Zuse's voice dropped into a lower tone.

"I need to get to the portal."

"Well, it's closing quickly as I'm sure you're aware," Zuse made his way around his mini bar, "tick-tock- tick-tock. And it's quite the journey. Beyond the far reaches of the out lands. Your father did not want any programs slipping out accidentally, did he?"

Sam joined Zuse at the barrier that served as a silencer between the private suite and the club below.

"Can you help me?" 

"Of course."

Victoria stepped onto the elevator relatively quickly with Quorra as Kevin looked around cautiously before joining them. Kevin had gone ahead and quickly disposed of the guards in the elevator. Quorra reached over and tapped the highest numerical on the display panel of the elevator. And without a warning, the elevator made it's way upwards smoothly without interruption.

Victoria looked out the window and took in the sight of the city.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kevin commented quietly from behind her.

"Like nothing on the Earth we know," Victoria whispered thoughtfully as she pressed her hand against the cold glass. Rain pelted down on the window and she could almost feel each patter.

"But nothing can ever compare, can it. To the world outside,"

"Yeah…nothing like it,"

Sam froze as he looked up at the light rod heading straight down toward his head.

"SAM!"

Flinching, Sam was in for a surprise as he was tackled to the side. Grunting he opened his eyes to see Victoria already on her feet and standing over him protectively with her disc in hand. He glanced to where he once stood and barely caught Quorra derezzing the guard that had almost killed him.

"Sam! Snap out of it!" Victoria shouted as she skidded back slightly at the force of the blow she blocked with her disc.

It was pure chaos as innocent programs were killed in cross fire. Renegades, rebels, guards, and bartenders were all killing on another in a flurry of lights. It wasn't long before the three were forced apart from one another fighting for their lives. And it was clear that they were greatly outnumbered by the skilled programs.

Victoria let out a gasp of pain as she was kicked back onto a table. She tumbled over it backwards and crashed onto the ground along with the table. She was sure she shattered her hip along with the rest of the table. But there was no time to rest as she rolled away, a light rob slamming on to the ground where she once lay.

Sam punched, blocked, and slashed with his disc forcibly against ever hand and weapon that came near him. He glowered at his foolishness for falling into the same trap his dad had warned him about. And now, as he and his friends fought for their lives, Castor stood on his private suite cackling like a maniac and shooting light bullets from his crystalline cane.

"Quorra! No!" Victoria's sudden cry had Sam turning around.

Quorra was forced on her knees, arms held apart by two guards. A third guard stood in front of her with a light rod and began arching downward.

Time slowed down as Victoria and Sam tried to make their ways toward their fallen comrade as fast as they could. From their separate points, Victoria and Sam watched in panic as the light rod avoided Quorra's head but moved to slice down on her arm. The second it touched her arm, her arm from her mid upper arm down shattered into data cubes.

Castor celebrated with Gem by his side, watching manically as Flynn's son, the female User, and Quorra fight. Then it all seemed to get better as Quorra dropped to the ground unresponsive as her arm was derezzed. The night was getting better and better and he knew he was getting closer to reaching his goal.

Pitch black darkness descending down on the whole club. Screams that echoed the walls took a higher pitch before silencing along with the music. The lights of the suits illuminated the shadows.

And the rebels took it into their advantage as they took down the surprised guards one by one.

All joy left Castor as he spotted the one figure that haunted him.

Kevin Flynn made his way toward the three.

"Let's split, man," Flynn said as he knelt down beside the two adults hovering over Quorra.

Sam tucked his arms underneath Quorra's knees and shoulder and lifted her bridal style. They quickly shuffled their way back towards the only elevator.

Once all of them were in, Victoria turned around to push the button with the lowest numerical value. However her fingers froze before they could push the button as a guard in black shot something at Kevin's back. Before she could utter a word and just as Kevin turned to see what hit him, his disc was taken away and the doors closed on them automatically.

"The disc!" Tori yelled as she pushed on the button to reopen the doors.

"No, wait!" Kevin shouted as the doors began opening again.

A violent shock shook all the passengers and sent Victoria back to crash against the glass wall of the elevator. Her pained groans fell to deaf ears as all their ears rung from the explosion.

"Whoa,whoa,whoa,whoah!"

The elevator was descending at an incredible speed and was picking up more as they free-fell.

Sam began pushing all the buttons on the directory hoping that the elevator would stop at one of them before they crashed into anything.

"A little help here maybe?" Sam shouted panicking as his father stood there. Abandoning his plan, Sam turned and watched as his dad touched one of the glass walls and began accessing the system. The first gate was fast approaching and the elevator they were in showed no signs of slowing. Then whatever Flynn seemed to be doing worked as each gate after gate opened just in time to let them through.

Finally, the shock absorber on the bottom of the elevator fired out to slow their momentum down to a stop.

With Quorra safely laid out on the ground, Sam moved to help Victoria to sit up. He examined her face and was relieved to find her relatively unharmed beside the bump on her head. He hoped that she did not sustain a concussion or worse.

"I-I'm fine," Victoria stuttered with a grimace, she could barely make out Sam's blue eyes as her own eyes teared up the slightest.

"You sure? You might have a slight concussion," Sam took Tori's nod with slight hesitance before turning toward his dad.

"The disc, g-gone," Tori said as she pointed at Kevin's back.

Sam looked and guilt filled him to his very pores.

"Dad. Your disc, it's gone," Sam said.

"It is."

Kevin walked out to survey if there were any guards or people around.

"I'm sorry. I know I messed up," Sam said as he glared at the ground, Kevin barely made a sound of acknowledgement. 

"We can go back," Sam offered, "I can go back." 

"No-" Victoria interrupted.

"We stay together," Kevin finished.

"Dad, I can do this," The younger Flynn said with a little more strength.

"You've done enough already!" Kevin exploded suddenly, a storm of emotions flashing in his eyes and posture. Both conscious adults flinched back in surprise and fear.

Kevin pursed his lips and forced himself to calm down as he took in their reaction.

"Sam, you're really…"

Kevin moved to kneal beside Quorra, "You're really messing with my Zen thing, man."

Kevin examined Quorra critically, "She's stable."

Kevin then turned to Victoria, touched below one of her eyes and moved her head back and forth. He took her wince into consideration but knew she would be fine as well.

"That was a hard knock on the head, but you'll be fine."

He then stood back up and walked out of the compartment.

Sam took this chance to speak up again.

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. Nothing," There was frustration in his tone and everyone heard it, "We do nothing…be still…wait."

Sam turned away and stared between at the space between Quorra and Victoria.

Seeing the struggle, Victoria raised a hand and gently stroked his face from his cheek to his chin.

"It'll be alright, we'll think of something," She whispered into his ear and placed a kiss on his furrowed forehead, "have faith."

"You ever jump a freight train?" Kevin suddenly cut in just as Sam opened his mouth to speak.

That caught their attention so they stared at Kevin's back confused.

"Huh?" Sam noised.

"We do it your way. Full on sprint towards the portal," Kevin turned around and moved to help Victoria onto her feat, "If we beat CLU there, then we have a chance."

"Let's get her out of here," Kevin was careful to support Victoria as she faltered as vertigo hit her hard. Behind them, Sam picked up Quorra and made after them.

They made their way up from the side stairs, Kevin helping Sam pull Quorra up, and up the ramp toward the top of the train. They made their way toward the front of the train to settle at the balcony-like ramp there.

Victoria aided Sam in lowering Quorra onto her back on the floor. And once they passed the

first gate, Kevin was beside them. However seeing as they had no idea what to do, Victoria and Sam watched Kevin work his magic.

Victoria gently brushed Quorra's hair from her pale face and could not help but mourn at the blank dead look in her friend's eyes. So all she could do was brush the program's hair back into place with a motherly-care.

Sam peaked from the corner of his eyes to catch Victoria touch Quorra's cheek. He knew the blame was on him, and even though Kevin assured them that she was stable. Sam knew that stable was not the same as being fine or even being able to wake up. He turned away from them as Victoria turned to look at him. He chose to watch his father, his fingers twitched to touch the globe of data that his dad pulled up. However instead, he kept his hands firmly on the ground.

He did not want to make things worse than it already was.


	13. Chapter 13

OH MY LOVELY BUBBLES I AM SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE

But I was still getting alerts that people were still liking this story! And thanks to a lovely person I finally got off my lazy butt to write you the next chapter. I'm sorry to tell you guys thought that updates, even though they will be coming, will be erratic to say the least cause I'm taking summer courses and they're demanding to say the least.

* * *

"Is she going to make it?" Sam asked, he could not make of anything that was occurring in Kevin's hands. Kevin had removed Quorra's identity disc and had handed it to Sam to hold up horizontally. Then with a touch of a few hidden buttons, a fluorescent blue globe of data appeared before them.

"I don't know…I've got to identify the damaged code," Kevin answered as he shuffled through the data, "The sequencing is just enormously complex."

Sam quirked an eyebrow as he turned away from Quorra and Tori to stare at his dad.

"But didn't you write it?"

"Some of it. But the rest is just…"

* * *

Victoria teetered on the edge of nausea, with Quorra's head in her lap and her back against the cool railing of the platform, she barely held on. Fortunately for her, Kevin had confirmed her hunch that concussion was not the diagnosis. However, she very much felt like it and almost wished she was in shock. At least then, she would not feel much of anything.

From just under her lashes she could see Kevin and Sam clearly but the bright lights reflecting against the darkness brought another wave of queasiness.

Holding back a moan, Victoria pulled herself up the railing slightly to ease her aching back.

"She's an Iso…" Sam's breathless tone cut in.

"Yeah, the last Iso," Pride brimmed Kevin's voice.

Victoria closed her eyes, tuning out the conversation. Her last thought rotating around Quorra's true identity and the hum of Sam's voice.

* * *

"They risked their lives for me." Sam stated grimly as he watched Victoria close her eyes and nod off.

"Some things are worth the risk," Kevin assured as he took in his son and his expression to heart. And the dull ache that plagued him for years on end reared its head, though it lessened with each passing moment. His son was safe and alive.

Gently they leaned over and turned Quorra over the slightest, watching carefully as her head rolled limply in Victoria's lap. Kevin reached down and slipped the disc back into it's slot on the suit and turned it to secure it's placement. And almost like a reset button, the lights lit up. And just as they returned her on her back, digital cubes began cascading down from Quorra's left stump. And piece by piece it formed into the arm that she had lost, gloves, lights, and all.

"Look at that…Now that is impressive, if I do say so myself. Huh?" Kevin chuckled joyously as he leaned back at his accomplishment. Sam smirked in relief, his eyes following the reforming arm.

"Come on, it's going to take a while for her system to reboot. And Victoria looks like she needs some quiet time to rest," Kevin suggested as he hauled himself up off the ground.

A sense of pride slithered in as he noticed his son hesitate to follow.

He paused observing his son's eyes on the young Asian woman. He held back an amused chuckle and settled to grin instead. He wondered how much his son knew his actions reflected on his feelings.

Probably not that much.

"She'll be fine Sam, from what I've seen so far. She isn't going to go down without a fight – a bump in the head isn't even on her list of ways to quit," He humored, his statement being the key to pull Sam off the floor to join him on the ramp.

"Now it's time for you to tell me a story."

* * *

"Icecaps are melting in the East, war in the Middle East. Lakers, Celtics are back at it," Sam muttered half-heartedly as he listed off the current events, unsure on what to tell his dad of the outside world," I don't know…Rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. Cellphones, online-dating, Wi-Fi-"  
"What's wi-fi?" Kevin cut in curiously with a perplexed expression.

"Wireless interlinking," Sam replied remembering that those terms didn't exist back in his dad's time.

"Of digital devices?" Kevin guessed.

"Yeah," Sam looked at his father with a slight smile.

"Ha, I thought of that in '85," He said with a matter-of-fact tone as he turned away smugly.

Sam looked at Kevin with a strange look before bursting out with laughter.

Then a quiet air settled around them.

"Mom and Dad are…" Kevin paused, uncomfortable with structuring the question," I assume that…"

The younger man looked down for a moment and saved his father from the question and to push back the emotions.  
"Yeah. Mac when I was 12…and Gram five years later."

Kevin closed his eyes for a moment in silent prayer for his parent's deaths. It was predictable but hearing it out loud hurt more than he expected.

"You remember that night, when you didn't come home?"

And then the conversation slowly turned downhill, the tension between them growing.

Sam clenched onto the railing as they delved deeper into CLU's creation and cause. Until Kevin admitted to the mistake he had created. But Sam did not see what his dad saw, the perfection his father had worked so hard to create was incredible.

"Look what you've accomplished, it's incredible," Sam commented but was cut off as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

"Sam," Kevin waited for his son to look at him, "I'd have given it all up for one more day with you."

There weren't tears in either man's eyes as they stared at each other with lost looks.

Kevin turned away with a thick sigh as Sam looked away unsure on what to say. He felt shocked, amazed, and at peace. He knew his dad loved him more than he sometimes seemed to forget – but to admit that Kevin would give everything he had dreamed to create and succeeded in making for just one more day with him was…love.

He quickly thought of another topic to ease the moment.

"…Remember your old Ducati?"

* * *

A smile ran its way across her face.

Victoria had woken soon enough to hear the last of their conversation. If her body wasn't so occupied with being sore and tired, she was sure she would have shed a tear at the amount of emotion from Kevin's words alone.

Cue the eye-rolling from the Sam in her head. She could almost hear him now, complaining on how much she was such a girl. All those nights spent watching movies together, almost every time she shed a tear despite whatever genre they were watching. But from those memories what she remembered the most was the warmth and comforting feeling of rolling up together under the blankets. The same feeling only stronger that she had gotten only moments ago in their room-

'Oh goodness, I'm getting mushy,' Victoria let out a quiet giggle from under her breath to stop the blush from forming. At this movement, a sharp poke to her brain reminded her of her position.

She was just glad she had only hit her head lightly than anything greater, like a limb from the bomb.

She should really knock on some wood, but alas, wood did not exist in the Grid.

Thankfully, a set of footsteps heading their way shocked her out from her thoughts. Pulling her eyes open she watched with adjusting eyes as Sam made his way back to the two girls with something in hand.

"You're awake, thank God," Sam whispered, kneeling down next to Victoria to look into her eyes. He examined her pupils until he was assured that she was able to focus on him without waning.

"Of course, no thanks to your a-" She was stopped from her sarcasm as cool lips pressed down on her own. It was with a bit more force than before, but still heart-stopping. Closing her eyes Victoria responded immediately after with a smile.

"I'm. So. Sorry" Each word accompanied with a kiss. Dazed, but in a good way this time, Victoria only nodded and pulled Sam in for a longer kiss in forgiveness.

* * *

Kevin had not rushed to go "knocking in the sky" as Sam had thought. He watched as his only son fuss over the woman that he had just met. In reality, he had just met his son as well. But watching them together was surreal and heart-warming in body and spirit.

It still hurt that he had missed so much in his family's life on the other side but to have spent the few hours that they did was something he would never give up for anything.

He could only watch his son and Victoria kiss for so long before he turned away to grant them privacy.

'Though I'm sure Quorra would eagerly observe from her position if she were awake,' Kevin thought with a chuckle as he settled down on his knees.

He missed his wife.

And he would always cherish the time he had with her.

He wished his son to feel every bit of paradise he had with a life partner and only hoped that their time together wouldn't be as short as his was.

Time to go knocking on the sky.

* * *

When waking up, Quorra did not expect to wake up at all. And if she were to ever go to the real world, she was sure she almost felt what it would be like to wake up there. To think she had died thinking that she would never be able to escape the dangerous world she lived in but then to be proven wrong and to wake up perfectly fine and intact was…frightening and amazing.

But not everything to seem to be in place.

She felt insecurity creep in as Sam voiced his knowledge of her origin. Quorra knew that Sam and Victoria sympathized for the Isos but to have been treated so wrongly by CLU and the citizens of the Grid, there was still a wall.

"It was during the Purge, CLU was relentless the Black Guard were executing ISOs on the streets," the memories poured in on Quorra, "Everyone I knew disappeared…then they came for me. So I ran."

Quorra felt Victoria beside her shift in her seat, and was touched when the female User reached out to hold her hand.

"A sympathetic program smuggled me out of the city, But soon they had me surrounded. I prepared for the end. And just as everything was going dark – I felt a hand on my shoulder and when I opened my eyes…" Quorra looked down at their joining hands and reveled on how much their hands looked identical. Though their structures were vastly different, they were still the same in complexity and function. She looked to her side as Sam settled beside her on the other side, "standing above me was the Creator. Your father."

Quorra and Victoria could see the pride in Sam's eyes as she said this.

"He saved me. I guess you could say I'm a rescue," Quorra repeated the phrase from dinner with a smile. It successfully pulled chuckles from the grim couple.

Then a sudden thought came to head.

She wondered why the two were blushing and so happy when she had wakened abruptly from her stasis. She had unconsciously sat up but did not think it was shocking enough to make them so red. And why were they so happy…hm.

* * *

Describing the sun was definitely a first for Sam and Victoria. Since they had lived in a world where everyone lived under the sun and collectively knew what it looked like and felt, it was almost like having to describe air to a unless-I-see-it-it-doesn't-exist person.

And it made him realize how much they took the common things for granted.

To see what was in front of them all along.

His gaze not before long found its way to the animated black haired, blue eyed woman describing the sun to the actively listening Quorra. To always see and touch someone but never feeling her – or at least consciously loving her.

'But now, it's different,' Sam thought as he leaned back on his arms to stare at the amazing lights of the portal, 'and I'll never let her go.'

But of course, things never stayed calm for long.

"GET BLOW! MOVE!" The alarm in Kevin's posture and voice had all three of them jumping at their feet to follow his command.

"This isn't supposed to be here…"

Fear sparked its way into everyone, where there was trouble there would most definitely be CLU.


	14. Chapter 14

**I will finish this.**

**A peek at what is to come.**

**Thank you for holding on as you all have, and welcome to all those just coming in!**

* * *

_She couldn't let it happen._

_Not now._

_Not after everything._

_She didn't even have to think about it._

_._

_._

_._

_Before the pain even hit her, the fear gripped her harder and tighter. The breath was knocked out of her and she felt as though she was suffocating. In that moment, she questioned everything before her._

_Would they make it back to the real world?_

_Would CLU get through before us and destroy everything they loved?_

_What would happen to Sam's dad? The father she always heard about, he was everything and nothing like she had imagined._

_What would happen to Quorra? She just met the wonderful woman, but they could have been such great friends. _

_What would-_

_Her heart stalled, her face losing all its color._

_._

_Sam._

_._

_What would happen to Sam?_

_._

_._

_In an effort to call out his name, she let out a gut-wrenching cough._

_The taste in her mouth bit at her tongue._

_With trembling fingers she wiped at her lips._

_Was that…**blood**?_

_._

_._

_Tears had yet fallen but she felt them dancing on the edge of her lashes and vision._

_Hunched over, she stared at the shine of neon blue and the vibrating metal clasped in her hand._

_Only half of the circular disc was visible. Dropping her hand, she tried to grasp the half of the disc, but fumbled as her fingers slipped._

_._

_._

_As a human in this digital world, she could bleed still bleed._

_Whereas others would glitch._

_Where the residents of this world would break into data streams and disappear, she would bleed and die._

_In shock, the numbness blurred the world around her._

_In realization, the pain was unbearable._

_._

_._

_._

_She could no longer run, her legs numb, trembling and threatening to collapse beneath her._

_So instead, she looked behind her._

_._

_._

_The** look** on his face._

_She had ever only seen it once._

_The day Sam was informed his grandparents had passed._

_._

_It tore her to pieces._

_And the reason he looked like that, was because of her. _

_What hurt her more than her wound, was that she couldn't do anything about it._

_._

_._

_._

_And like movie waiting to begin once again, someone pressed the unmute button._

_._

_._

_._

**_"VICTORIA!"_**


End file.
